A COVID denier who encouraged others to carry out violent attacks in response to the British Government's handling of the pandemic has been jailed.
Patrick Ruane, 55, of west London, was sentenced at the Old Bailey on Monday to a total of five years' imprisonment, with an additional year to be served on licence.
He was previously found guilty at the same court on Friday, September 13, of two counts of encouragement of terrorism.
"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," said Acting Commander Gareth Rees from the Met's Counter Terrorism Command.
Bombing vaccine laboratories
In 2021, detectives became concerned over a series of extremist posts on social media, which they linked to Ruane.
He was arrested in November 2021 at his flat in west London, where they also seized a number of electronic devices.
These were analysed by specialist officers, who found that Ruane had posted in various groups that were against the government's Covid-19 policies and the vaccination rollout.
Officers identified that among his posts were a large number of messages where Ruane had actively encouraged people to commit acts of violence due to his dislike of the policies.
Detectives found posts where he was encouraging others to target staff linked to pharmaceutical companies producing the Covid-19 vaccinations.
Ruane also posted about targeting MPs and police, as well as bombing vaccine laboratories and 5G infrastructure.
Officers identified and evidenced a significant number of posts that demonstrated Ruane's extremist views over a 10-month period between January and November 2021.
Ruane was released on bail, however, the investigation continued.
In August 2023, he was charged with two counts of encouragement of terrorism and one count of possessing a document useful for terrorism.
Following a trial at the Old Bailey he was found guilty in respect of the two counts of encouragement of terrorism.
He was found not guilty in relation to the possession of a document useful for terrorism.
'Prolific in encouraging violence'
“This wasn't idle chit-chat online — he was encouraging people to seriously injure or kill others, suggesting who to target," said AC Rees.
"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."
Bethan David, Head of the Counter Terrorism Division at the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), said: "This is a dangerous man who was prolific in encouraging violence because of his firmly-held beliefs in a conspiracy theory.
"During a time when the nation was suffering a devastating pandemic and many lost loved ones, Patrick Ruane was using Telegram to spread false and damaging information and encourage violence and terrorism.
"He posed a credible threat to the peace and safety of the public, and it is only right that he has been found guilty today.
"The CPS will always seek to prosecute such appalling criminal behaviour, whether carried out in person or online, to keep the public safe."
See More: Covid-19, London, Patrick Ruane
