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Copeland, David (1976– )———97

CIRA is opposed to the 1998 Good Friday Underground. He also joined the British National Party
Accords, Northern Ireland’s peace plan. CIRA is the and the National Socialist Party, two extremely right-
only Republican paramilitary organization that has wing groups. When he first moved from belief to action
not declared a cease-fire in response to the accords; it is unknown.
is believed that several Real IRA members may have On April 17, 1999, Copeland planted a bomb on a
joined CIRA following 1998’s cease-fire. Although its street in Brixton, a mostly Afro-Caribbean neighbor-
numbers are small—estimated at about 30 members— hood in London. The device was simple; Copeland
it has an unknown amount of IRA weaponry seized had to start the timer before transporting the bomb,
from arms dumps and remains a significant threat. placing himself at great risk. The sports bag contain-
ing the charge was packed with nails, bolts, and other
See also CANARY WHARF BOMBING; IRISH REPUBLICAN ARMY;
shards of metal to spread devastating shrapnel. The
REAL IRISH REPUBLICAN ARMY
explosion injured 40 people.
Further Reading A week later, Copeland planted a second, similar
device in Brick Lane in a largely Pakistani and Indian
“Continuity I.R.A.: The Struggle Goes On?” BBC News immigrant neighborhood. An alert passerby noticed
Service Focus on Northern Ireland, March 16, 1999. the suspicious bag and placed it in the trunk of his car
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/events/northern_ to transport it to a police station. It exploded while
ireland/focus/newsid_166000/166943.stm.
Holland, Jack. Hope Against History: The Course of inside the car, injuring 10 people.
Conflict in Northern Ireland. New York: Henry Holt, Copeland’s third and most devastating attack came
1999. on April 29. This time, instead of leaving the device
McKittrick, David. Making Sense of the Troubles. Belfast: in an open area, Copeland entered a gay bar, ordered
Blackstaff, 2000. a drink, and left after a few minutes. Acting on a tip,
O’Brien, Brendan. The Long War: The IRA and Sinn Fein. police had warned area bars of a possible attack, and
2nd ed. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 1999. several patrons noticed the suspicious gym bag. They
Taylor, Peter. Provos: The IRA and Sinn Fein. London: had just gathered around to examine the bag when it
Bloomsbury, 1997. exploded. Three people were killed and 79 were
injured.
The widespread use of closed-circuit television
COPELAND, DAVID (1976– ) cameras in England had allowed authorities to pick
out the bomber from the crowd in the Brixton and
Brick Lane incidents. Closed-circuit pictures released
David Copeland is a British neo-Nazi who orches- by the police resulted in a tip from one of Copeland’s
trated a series of nail bombings in London during the coworkers the very afternoon of the third bombing,
summer of 1999. and he was arrested the next day. When caught,
Born on May 15, 1976, Copeland grew up in Copeland confessed immediately, stating that his
Yately, Hampshire, the second son of middle-class motive had been to spark a race war in England. Tried
parents. An intelligent youth, he was somewhat shy the following spring, he pleaded guilty of manslaugh-
and withdrawn, and of markedly slight build, a com- ter with diminished capacity (claiming he was subject
bination that made him the object of much bullying in to paranoid fantasies and delusions), but the jury
school. He has stated that he fantasized continually convicted him of murder. He is now serving three
about taking violent revenge on his tormentors from life sentences for murder in Broadmoor psychiatric
age 12; some observers have suggested that his obses- hospital.
sion with domination and violence led him to develop
an interest in fascism. Whatever the case, from his See also BOMBINGS AND BOMB SCARES; FREELANCE
teens Copeland was fascinated with Nazism and other TERRORISM
right-wing and racist causes. He believed in the supe-
riority of the white race over all others and nurtured a Further Reading
particular, intense loathing for homosexuals. “BBC News Special Report: The Nail Bomb Terror.”
Although he did well enough in school to go on to BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/uk/newsid_
higher education, Copeland took a job with the London 332000/332807.stm.