Covid denier who encouraged violent uprising convicted of terrorism offence

A Covid denier who encouraged a violent uprising against the Government has been convicted of a terrorism offence, after an investigation by Counter Terrorism Policing London.

The investigation found that Paul Martin, 60 (01.06.1965), of Croydon, and a British national, posted 16,000 messages on a Telegram group entitled ‘The Resistance UK’ in which he called for the use of crossbows and explosives.

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.”

Martin was arrested at his home address on September 28 2021 and a number of items were seized by police.

They included a stun gun disguised as a torch, two crossbows with bolts, a large knife, air guns and drones.

Counter terrorism officers analysed his activity in the ‘Resistance UK’ Telegram chat and identified he was a particularly active member, responsible for four percent of all the messages in the group containing 8,000 people.

The messages he sent revealed his belief that Covid was a ‘hoax’ and the vaccine was a ‘poison designed to kill you off’.

Martin described the situation as a ‘silent war’ and encouraged fellow members of the group to purchase a crossbow and make petrol bombs.

After a two-week trial at the Old Bailey, Martin was found guilty of encouragement of terrorism, contrary to section 1 of the Terrorism Act 2006 and found not guilty of possession of articles for the purposes of terrorism, contrary to section 57 of the Terrorism Act 2000.

He previously pleaded guilty to possession of a weapon capable of discharging a noxious substance or other thing (stun gun), contrary to section 5(1)(b) of the Firearms Act 1968.

Martin will be sentenced at the Old Bailey on 18 December.