Anti-vax conspiracy theorist called for kill squad in Telegram chat, court told

A conspiracy theorist issued a rallying call on Telegram for a “kill squad” to shoot people involved in the Covid-19 vaccine rollout and burn “Big Pharma” to the ground, a court has heard.

Patrick Ruane, 55, is on trial at the Old Bailey accused of encouraging terrorism through the use of weapons, guns and explosions in a series of posts on the encrypted app during the pandemic.

He also had a manual entitled “Anon-How to make a jolly roger” which included viable instructions on making Semtex, it is alleged.

Opening his trial on Monday, Julia Faure Walker said Ruane was “angry, frustrated and upset” about lockdown policies and the vaccine rollout when he posted messages to thousands of Telegram users in 2021.

He believed conspiracy theories about a “hidden agenda” and was particularly focused on manufacturers of the Covid vaccine and those who administered jabs, she said.

In one post, Ruane allegedly wrote: “I’m all for hunting them down and  f***ing executing them where they stand as too many people have f***ing died and it’s not going to stop until we start killing them back.”

When someone posted about not allowing a “satanist puppet” to come near his children with “that poison jab kill shots”, the defendant allegedly encouraged others to “find where they live put a kill squad together and shoot” them in their beds.

In response to another post, he allegedly advocated burning “all the big pharmas offices manufacturing plants and infrastructure” to the ground.

The court heard Ruane referred to executing politicians, saying the manufacture of ammunition for sniper weapons “could end corrupt politicians and Davos scum in one shot”.

Ruane, an audio producer who worked in films, posted images of Semtex and when asked about delivery, wrote: “Why deliver when you can make it yourself,” jurors were told.

He allegedly called for an “IRA play book” to be implemented after the then-prime minister Boris Johnson extended powers for a further period.

The defendant also allegedly suggested destroying 5G communications, saying in one post: “5g towers are easy, Semtex, easy to make recipies (sic) on the www.”

Ms Faure Walker told jurors that the posts spanned many months and encouraged serious violence and disruption designed to influence the government or intimidate a section of the public.

Ruane’s posts reached a “very large audience” via two Telegraph chat groups, one of which had 18,000 users and the other with 8,000, she told jurors.

She suggested some of those who viewed messages could “have a range of susceptibilities”, adding the posts could have spread more widely by being forwarded on by others.

On the defendant’s motivation, she said: “He was vehemently against the measures brought in by the then-government in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, including the lockdown and vaccination rollout.

“It was this ideological cause that drove the messages.

“Whatever your personal viewpoint, there is nothing illegal in merely holding views or campaigning to bring about change.

“What brings Mr Ruane here, facing terrorism charges, is that rather than restricting himself to advocating change through argument or protest for example, he repeatedly referred to serious violence, even referring to the use of Semtex, as well as serious criminal damage and disruption of electronic communication systems.”

She added: “There were not just one or two posts. There were repeated references to violence, in various forms, including explosions and by using firearms and other weapons.

“It is not the case, therefore, that it was a single off the cuff remark, but rather many posts, over many months.”

The defendant’s electronic devices were seized when police attended his flat in November 2021.

In police interview, he referred to making “props” for a film, but did not elaborate on why he needed instructions for the explosives for that.

He told police he had lost his business during the last lockdown and was drinking a lot.

Ms Faure Walker suggested a potential issue was whether he was using alcohol as an excuse to deny responsibility for his actions.

Ruane, of Westbourne Terrace, Paddington, west London, has denied two counts of encouraging terrorism and one charge of collecting information likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism.

The Old Bailey trial continues.