Army Cadet's Disturbing Valentine's Day Plot Revealed in Terrorism Trial
An army cadet allegedly planned a chilling "Valentine's school shooting" after being rejected by a 16-year-old girl, the Old Bailey has heard in a disturbing terrorism trial. Dihan Rahman, now aged 19, stands accused of stalking two teenage girls despite repeated police warnings, with prosecutors revealing a pattern of extremist behaviour and violent intentions.
Disturbing Selfies and Extremist Imagery
Jurors were shown alarming selfies of Rahman wearing army uniform alongside deeply concerning content. The images included the words "kill yourself" positioned next to pictures of Adolf Hitler, Saddam Hussein, graphic beheadings, dead bodies, and explicit depictions of violence against women. In one particularly troubling photograph, Rahman appeared with a headscarf covering his face alongside text asking "Who's in for a Valentines school shooting".
Prosecutor Serena Gates KC described how Rahman's interest in violence stemmed from a toxic combination of incel beliefs, extreme right-wing ideology, misogyny, and Islamic extremism. The court heard how he had admitted charges of stalking both teenage girls as well as a female teacher who discovered the disturbing images on his mobile phone.
Pattern of Harassment and Escalation
The problems reportedly began in 2023 when Rahman started attending a new school and an Army cadet programme. After one girl rejected his advances, he began sending both teenagers abusive messages. On Valentine's Day 2024, he allegedly messaged the object of his affection with the chilling words: "Goodbye retard." He then attempted to phone her before being blocked on WhatsApp.
The harassment escalated as the girl became aware Rahman was photographing her and her friends, followed by him "spamming" her social media accounts. After being banned from the cadet base, he allegedly posted on Snapchat and TikTok about plans to "ruin prom", forcing organisers to change the venue. One post reportedly included images of the original venue alongside a photograph of a German Nazi soldier walking through a forest with a gun.
Teacher's Discovery and Further Offences
A female teacher described Rahman as "socially awkward" but said she had no issues with him until he began sending the girls Snapchat messages in January 2024. The following month, he allegedly told her he "hates women". The teacher seized his phone after reports emerged of him photographing girls at school.
Upon examining the device, she discovered a photograph of Rahman in cadet uniform holding a noose. After briefly leaving the room, she allegedly caught him deleting images. As she confiscated the phone, she reportedly viewed the disturbing image of Rahman with a headscarf around his face alongside the Valentine's school shooting text.
Terrorism-Related Charges and Online Activity
Rahman, from west London, has denied six charges of possessing documents and videos useful to someone committing or preparing to commit an act of terrorism. The material allegedly includes videos about pipe bombs and "How to make a bomb in your mum's kitchen", along with documents entitled Terrorist's Handbook, Improvised Munitions Handbook, The Anarchist's Cookbook and Anarchy Cookbook version 2000.
While admitting possession of the material, Rahman claims he had a "reasonable excuse", stating he didn't know they contained information useful for terrorism and kept them for "research". However, Ms Gates countered that the defendant "did not simply have these documents with no idea what might be in them", pointing to his wider online activity and the circumstances leading to his arrest.
Continued Harassment and Doxxing Allegations
Despite being arrested at his home on March 15 2024 and given police bail with conditions to stay away from the girls, Rahman allegedly failed to comply. He was arrested again in November 2025, with examination of his laptop revealing he had made 83 searches for the first girl that month, leading to his remand in custody.
Further investigations uncovered that documents about both girls had been released online, containing detailed information about their families and social media accounts while labelling them a "danger to males". Ms Gates described this as "doxxing" - the online practice of exposing personal information to encourage harassment by online trolls.
The court also heard that Rahman, who has autism, made official complaints against the teacher who discovered the images, pretending to be his own father. The Old Bailey trial continues as jurors consider the disturbing evidence presented about this alleged Valentine's Day school shooting plot and related terrorism charges.
