A ‘cult’ member accused of being involved in a plot to kidnap a coroner told a court he is a ‘man of honour’ and claimed to ‘deal with state child trafficking’.
Matthew Martin, 47, asked that copies of a book that he brought to Chelmsford Crown Court – which said ‘JUDICIAL-NOTICE JSO29587168GB’ on its front cover – be handed out to jurors.
The book said it was ‘Your own court of record for every country and every jurisdiction’.
Further text on the cover, which had artwork of a fingerprint on it, said: ‘The facts that destroy all parliamentary systems, governments & their acts. Volume 1 of 4.’
It said it was written by ‘:Janine :Linehan.’ and ‘directive by :Mark-kishon :Christopher.’ – with Mark Christopher being one of the other defendants who is on trial.
Martin, of Plaistow, east London, became emotional at times while addressing jurors from the witness box.
He said: ‘What I do for a living, what I do every day when I wake up, I deal with state child trafficking.’
He added that it was ‘nothing to do with terrorism or cult, it’s strictly facts’.
Matthew Martin, 47, told the court he is a ‘man of honour’ and claims to ‘deal with state child trafficking’
Shiza Harper, 45, (left) and Sean Harper, 38, (right) both of South Benfleet, Essex, are on trial alongside Martin and Mark Christopher, 58, of Forest Gate, east London. All deny conspiracy to kidnap and conspiracy to commit false imprisonment
Martin, Mark Christopher, 58, of Forest Gate, east London; Shiza Harper, 45, of South Benfleet, Essex; and Sean Harper, 38, also of South Benfleet, Essex, are all on trial and all deny conspiracy to kidnap and conspiracy to commit false imprisonment.
The court was previously told the group of four defendants had gone to the coroner’s court in Chelmsford on April 20 2023 in search of Essex senior coroner Lincoln Brookes.
Mr Brookes was not at the court at the time.
Martin told jurors on Monday he had ‘never ever met Lincoln Brookes’, adding: ‘I don’t know who Lincoln Brookes is.’
‘I went there to do my duties because the judge (Christopher) said they’re not allowed to hold her majesty’s shield,’ said Martin.
His co-defendant Harper said, in a transcript of his police interview that was previously read to jurors, that he was a ‘student’ of Mark Christopher, who he described as a ‘very knowledgeable man’.
Harper said he was part of a group carrying out a ‘warrant’ to ‘condemn these unlawful buildings that are causing harm to the people’.
He said Christopher was the ‘chief federal postal court judge’ of the ‘federal postal court’, a group which rejects the authority of the UK government and all relevant administrations.
The judge who is presiding over the case at Chelmsford Crown Court, Mr Justice Goss, offered Christopher the opportunity to give evidence before Martin chose to enter the witness box.
Christopher kept his eyes closed and his head bowed, as he sat in the secure dock of the court, and did not move when the judge offered him the opportunity to give evidence in his defence.
The judge then offered Martin the opportunity to give evidence and he responded that he would like to and went to the witness box.
Coroner Brookes previously said he received a series of ‘very bizarre’ letters in 2022 before receiving emails in April 2023 stating that ‘corporal punishment may be administered’.
The coroner said he ‘felt this was a security threat to my safety’ and later contacted police, but said he was told the ‘risk was low’.
He said there was a further ‘ominous’ email on April 19 last year, before people turned up looking for him the following day – on April 20.
He said he had not been at the coroner’s court in Chelmsford that morning, having accompanied a family member to a hospital appointment, but was due to attend the court to preside over an inquest that afternoon.
Senior Coroner Lincoln Brookes (pictured)previously said he received a string of ‘very bizarre’ letters in 2022
Mr Brookes said he was warned not to come to the building and was told ‘these are the people from the letter – they’re coming to get you’.
‘I turned around and started driving home as fast as I could as I was fearful for the safety of my family,’ he said.
Christopher also denies sending threatening letters to Mr Brookes with intent to cause distress or anxiety.
Michelle Brown, Essex area coroner, told jurors she had been conducting documentary inquests – from paperwork and without witnesses or family present – when four people entered the courtroom on April 20 last year.
Ms Brown repeatedly asked the group to identify themselves, mistaking them for maintenance workers as three of them were wearing hi-vis jackets.
She said they ‘carried on walking towards me’ and ‘it wasn’t until I saw the symbols on the hi-vis jackets that I realised who they were’.
‘I knew of letters that had been received by the coroner’s service with those symbols on and I had read the contents of some of those letters,’ said Ms Brown.
‘I asked them to leave and this main gentleman (Christopher) who wasn’t wearing the hi-vis jacket started to talk.
She said the group asked for Mr Brooke and asked where his office was. However, Mr Brooke was not in court at that time.
‘The female of the group had like, the newspaper bags, and she was instructed to throw that on the ground to seize the court,’ said Ms Brown.
‘I was told by the main gentleman they had seized the court and it was in their control.’
She said they ‘made mention they had handcuffs and given Mr Brookes wasn’t there I believed they would take me’.
Ms Brown said that Martin assaulted security guard Mr McCormack and broke his glasses.
Martin denies assault by beating of security guard Eammon McCormack on April 20 2023, and the criminal damage of his spectacles.
The court previously heard Martin was arrested at the scene while the other three defendants were arrested at Southend County Court later the same day, where they had also attempted to ‘condemn’ the court building.
The trial continues.