Authorities detained Piotr K., a 40-year-old construction worker, in October 2022 during a historical reenactment event. He was wearing a combat uniform with Wagner Group patches.

Witnesses reported that he boasted about joining the paramilitary group on social media.

Frank Ferguson, head of the U.K.'s Counter Terrorism Division said in a statement that the man “claimed to be fighting for the Wagner group as part of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and aggressively threatened people with a knife, acting upon his extremist views and the reputation of a terrorist organisation to cause fear in others.”

During his August court appearance, Piotr K. admitted to the charges while wearing attire including symbols linked to far-right ideology and white supremacy, according to the prosecutor’s statement.

A search of his home also uncovered a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf and other Nazi memorabilia.

The defendant argued that he made up the claim to provoke a reaction from event participants amid disagreements regarding Russia's war in Ukraine.

U.K’s anti-terrorism police said that there was no evidence to support his claim of membership in the Wagner Group or involvement in combat in Ukraine. However, officials pointed out that falsely identifying as a member of a terrorist organization, especially a group with a reputation for violence like Wagner, is a serious offense in the U.K.

The Wagner Group is a Kremlin-linked Russian mercenary organization conducting combat operations around the globe. It has been accused of numerous war crimes during the ongoing war in Ukraine.