This was the direct result of being previously reported to the police by a janitor who came across notes the group left behind after role-playing a terrorist attack. Not wishing to alarm outsiders, the group routinely destroyed its notes and other documents post-game. This was corroborated by statements from other members of the group. He apparently used it to create terrorism scenarios for the group to work with. Walker downloaded his copy from a local library for use with a role-playing “crisis game” group. He did what any number of people could have done: downloaded a freely-available PDF and printed it out. Walker didn’t even possess a physical copy of the book, so to speak.

Walker was accused of violating the Terrorism Act because he possessed information “likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism.” He faced the possibility of a 10-year jail sentence. They later searched his apartment, turning up a copy of the infamous “Anarchist Cookbook,” which contains bomb-making instructions along with information about how to eavesdrop on phone calls and commit credit card fraud. Police had arrested Walker when he arrived at the airport. Ryan Gallagher details the trial of Josh Walker - a man who actually left the UK to fight against terrorists, only to be charged under the nation’s terrorism laws when he returned. We’ve reached the point in terrorism hysteria where someone can be prosecuted simply for having a copy of book already owned by millions.

The anarchist cookbook pdf