Covid denier convicted of terror charge after calling for pandemic uprising

A Covid denier is facing jail for calling for a violent uprising during the pandemic with AK-47 assault rifles, petrol bombs and rocket launchers.

Paul Martin, 60, was found guilty of encouraging terrorism on a Telegram group entitled The Resistance UK following an Old Bailey trial.

He was cleared of having weapons “for the purposes of terrorism” in relation to a collection of blades, crossbows and arrows.

The court heard how Martin used the handle Perpetual Truth to make 16,000 posts aimed at whipping up dissent against the UK Government  between December 2020 and September 2021.

Outlining his mindset, prosecutor Julia Faure Walker said: “He was vehemently against the measures brought in by the then-government in response to the pandemic, including the lockdown and vaccine rollout.

“It was this ideological cause that drove the messages encouraging violence and other action.”

Rather than restricting himself to lawful protest, the defendant repeatedly referred to “serious violence, criminal damage and disruption of electrical communication systems”.

In one post, Martin wrote: “The simple fact is there is no pandemic, never has been.

“The main goal was to genocide all they can and enslave the survivors and make the children sterile with poison.

“That has been their target for decades… total control of humanity and absolute enslavement.”

He claimed Covid was “the biggest hoax perpetuated on humanity on a global scale”, with “fake vaccine jabs”, “actors” and “paid off people”.

He linked Covid jabs with the rollout of 5G mobile phone technology, claiming: “Vaccine is a poison designed to kill you off over a short period.”

He wrote that 5G “will be a trigger” and the second dose of the vaccine would be the “kill shot”, the court was told.

In December 2020, the defendant wrote: “It is a war you better get ready to smash skulls and destroy evil.”

Martin also called for attacks on 5G and CCTV, saying: “If small groups hit main shit all over the country they be running around like flies.”

In another post, he allegedly stated: “Target their shit: council offices, police station, road works. Take down rail as well as they cannot get their drones to work.”

He went on: “Freedom fighters are classed as terrorists. Wake up.”

To counter police infiltration, Martin developed a “ruse” that he was writing a book entitled “Two steps forward, one step back”, which turned into a running joke among Telegram users, jurors heard.

At one stage, Martin joked that the Telegram group members were all authors, and referred to planning chapters of “our joint venture book”.

Two crossbows, arrows and blades were found when police visited his home in September 2021, the court heard.

The defendant joined Telegram group The Resistance UK in December 2020 and his posts made up some 4% of messages to the 8,000 members, the court heard.

Martin, of Suffolk Road, Croydon, has admitted having a stun gun but denied the other two charges against him.

Giving evidence in his trial, he said his posts were “pure fantasy”, “gibberish” and “twaddle” and insisted he would never hurt anyone.

On why he talked about weapons, he told jurors: “At the time, I was thinking in my head better to be a warrior in the garden than a gardener in the battlefield. Be prepared.”

On his book claim, he admitted he had yet to write a single chapter, but said: “I was contemplating putting it to paper.”

A jury deliberated for seven hours and 20 minutes to find Martin guilty of encouraging terrorism by a majority of nine to one on Thursday.

Judge Richard Marks KC ordered a report and adjourned sentencing until December 18.

Granting Martin continued bail, the judge warned him not to be under illusions that he faced anything other than an immediate jail sentence given the “seriousness” of the offence.

Commander Dominic Murphy, head of Counter Terrorism Policing London, said: “This is an unusual case dating back to the time of the Covid pandemic when social media contained many conspiracy theories about the vaccine and lockdown restrictions.

“However, Paul Martin’s actions went way beyond lawful comment or protest against Government policy as he encouraged others online to acquire weapons and use them in attacks.

“Anyone who advocates violence in this way can expect to be arrested and prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

“Single issue terrorism such as this remains a very small part of our caseload, however, we are always alert to how political, economic and social events are changing the focus of our work.”