Covid denier is jailed over uprising call

A COVID denier has been jailed for more than three years for calling for a violent uprising during the pandemic with AK-47 assault rifles, petrol bombs and rocket launchers.

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Paul Martin, 60, made 16,000 posts on a Telegram group entitled The Resistance UK which he joined in December 2020 aimed at whipping up dissent against the UK Government. His posts made up some 4% of messages to the 8,000 members.

The defendant, of Croydon, south London, was arrested at his home in September 2021, where a stun gun disguised as a torch, two crossbows with bolts, a large knife, air guns and drones were found and seized by police. Martin admitted having a stun gun and was found guilty of encouraging terrorism following an Old Bailey trial, but was cleared of having weapons "for the purposes of terrorism" in relation to the collection of blades, crossbows and arrows.