Conspiracy theorist called for Covid vaccine makers to be shot by kill squads, terror trial hears
A conspiracy theorist allegedly called for people involved in the Covid vaccine rollout to be shot by kill squads, a court has heard.
Patrick Ruane, 55, encouraged terrorism through the use of firearms and explosives in a series of posts on the encrypted Telegram app during the pandemic, a jury was told.
He called for an “IRA playbook” to be implemented after lockdown was introduced and allegedly had a manual which included viable instructions on making the explosive Semtex.
Opening the trial at the Old Bailey on Monday, Julia Faure Walker said Mr Ruane was “angry, frustrated and upset” about lockdown policies and the rollout of the vaccine.
The court heard he posted thousands of messages to Telegram users throughout 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.
Defendant ‘all for hunting manufacturers down’
In one post, Mr 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”, Mr Ruane 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 Mr Ruane referred to executing politicians, saying the manufacture of ammunition for sniper weapons “could end corrupt politicians and Davos scum in one shot”.
Mr 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 playbook” to be implemented after Boris Johnson, the prime minister at the time, 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.”
Defendant ‘encouraged serious violence’
Ms Faure Walker told jurors that the posts spanned many months and encouraged serious violence and disruption designed to influence the Government or intimidate the public.
Mr Ruane’s posts reached a “very large audience” via two Telegram 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.”
The defendant’s electronic devices were seized when police attended his flat in November 2021.
In a police interview, he said 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.
Mr Ruane, of 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 trial continues.
