Anti-vaxer in Chris Whitty violence post guilty of encouraging terror

An anti-vaccination conspiracy theorist who suggested “whacking” Professor Sir Chris Whitty over the head with a rounders bat has been found guilty of terrorism charges.

On Friday, Patrick Ruane, 55, was found guilty at the Old Bailey of two charges of encouraging terrorism in a series of Telegram posts in which he advocated the use of weapons, guns and explosions.

He was cleared of collecting information useful to a terrorist, relating a manual entitled Anon – How To Make A Jolly Roger which was said to include viable instructions on making Semtex.

The jury had deliberated for seven hours and 21 minutes to reach guilty verdicts by a majority of 10 to two.

This wasn’t idle chit-chat online – he was encouraging people to seriously injure or kill others, suggesting who to target

Judge Richard Marks KC adjourned sentencing until November 8 and granted Ruane conditional bail but stressed that his position was “very serious”.

Prosecutor Julia Faure Walker said it was likely the Crown would argue that Ruane had specifically targeted individuals, such as the chief medical officer for England Sir Chris, and the chief executive officer of Pfizer.

Ruane had replied to a post about Sir Chris, saying: “The weakest point of the scull (sic) is the back of the scull (sic) and all it would take is riding a bike very fast and whacking target over the back of head with a rounders bat but a mace (a piece of metal ball and chain) would be way better which if done right would turn said target into a vegetable for the rest of its life.”

And in response to the creator of the AstraZeneca vaccine getting a standing ovation at Wimbledon, he commented: “It’s a shame there was not a sharp shooter to take that f****** POS out.”

Ms Faure Walker had told jurors that 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 wrote: “I’m all for hunting them down and  f****** executing them where they stand as too many people have f****** 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 encouraged others to “find where they live put a kill squad together and shoot” them in their beds.

In response to another post, he 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 called for an “IRA play book” to be implemented after then-prime minister Boris Johnson extended powers for a further period.

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

Ms Faure Walker had 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” through two Telegraph chat groups, one of which had 18,000 users and the other 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.

The defendant’s electronic devices were seized when police went to 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.

Ruane, of Westbourne Terrace, Paddington, west London, had denied the charges against him and claimed his film work gave him a reasonable excuse for having the manual with Semtex instructions.

Following the verdict, acting commander Gareth Rees, from the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command, said: “Our investigation found large numbers of posts by Ruane where he was encouraging others to carry out extremely violent acts, all because he didn’t like the government’s response to the pandemic.

“This wasn’t idle chit-chat online – he was encouraging people to seriously injure or kill others, suggesting who to target.

“This case should serve as a warning that if you’re encouraging people to commit acts of terrorism, then we will investigate. Where we find evidence of this, then there are very serious consequences, something that Ruane is now facing.”