Chelmsford: Four guilty of coroner kidnap plot

A group of people, who entered Essex Coroner’s Court in an attempt to kidnap HM Coroner Lincoln Brookes have been found guilty of multiple offences.

Sean Harper, Shiza Harper, Matthew Dean Martin and Mark Kishon Christopher appeared at Chelmsford Crown Court today (Tuesday 30 July), where following a two-week trial, were all found guilty of conspiracy to commit kidnap and conspiracy to commit false imprisonment.

On 20 April 2023 at around 12:30pm, the group entered Seax House in Chelmsford, walking into one of the court rooms wearing high-visibility jackets and body worn cameras and carrying handcuffs. The group demanded to know where Lincoln Brookes was, saying they wanted to speak with him and stating that the court had been shut down.

Mr Brookes was not in the building at the time and those in the building managed to sound an alarm.

Those in the building were then held inside by the group, who threatened them, claiming to know where they lived.

Officers arrived at the building and were confronted by Christopher outside the building, who told them “we have shut this court system down” and telling officers that “you are not here to question me, you are here to aid me”.

Martin was arrested at the court on suspicion of assault and criminal damage. Christopher, Harper and Harper left the scene.

Following some quick enquiries from Essex Police, the group’s motives behind being at Seax House became clear causing officers to become concerned.

Coroner left 'hyper-vigilant' about family's safety

The four belong to an Organised Pseudolegal Commercial Argument group and see themselves as above law enforcement and the court system and as a ‘court of the people’.

They believed that they held powers of arrest and had previously discussed corporal punishment.

Further enquiries revealed that HM Coroner Lincoln Brookes had received a number of letters and emails from the group. The communications did not cause concern at first, however they grew more threatening with one letter threatening “corporal punishment on the spot”.

At around 2pm, Christopher, Harper and Harper were located close to Southend County Court and arrested.

Following their arrest, officers conducted searches at their addresses and located several items indicating they were planning on causing harm to Mr Brookes.

In interview, Shiza Harper revealed that after leaving Seax House, the group were travelling to Southend County Court to close it down. Harper claimed that she was a qualified postal inspector after completing a two-week course led by Mark Kishon Christopher.

The group were charged with multiple offences and denied these. A trial began at Chelmsford Crown Court on Tuesday, 16 July.

During the trial, HM Coroner Lincoln Brookes described how the incident had affected him “significantly” and had become “hyper vigilant about the safety of my family and myself”.

Today, Tuesday 30 July, Sean Harper, 38 and Shiza Harper, 45, both of Benfleet Park Road in Benfleet, were found guilty of conspiracy to commit kidnap and conspiracy to commit false imprisonment by majority verdict 11-1.

Matthew Dean Martin, 47, of Evelyn Denington Road in London, was found guilty of conspiracy to commit kidnap and conspiracy to commit false imprisonment, by majority verdict 11-1. He was found not guilty of criminal damage and assault by beating.

Mark Kishon Christopher, 58, of Claremont Road in London, was found guilty of conspiracy to commit kidnap and conspiracy to commit false imprisonment by majority verdict 11-1. He was also found unanimously guilty of sending a letter or email with intent to cause distress or anxiety

Christopher will be remanded in custody and Harper, Harper and Martin will be bailed from the court until sentencing at a later date.

"No one should feel threatened for doing their job"

Detective Chief Inspector Nathan Hutchinson said:

“The ideologies of this group were concerning and they genuinely believed that they had the power to construct their own legal system, threaten others and were above English law.
“No one should feel threatened for doing their job and I would like to thank Senior Coroner Lincoln Brookes who was the target of this kidnap and false imprisonment, as well as Michelle Brown and Eamonn McCormack who had to endure this incursion and for their cooperation throughout this investigation.
“I would also like to commend the actions of security and coroners’ staff in Seax House that day who acted calmly and rationally during an intimidating and traumatising ordeal.
“It’s clear that throughout the investigation and court proceedings, that the group had no belief of regard in the British justice system.
“The investigation team, especially investigating officer PC Thomas Berry remained focused and committed to gather the evidence needed to convict this concerning group of people and prevent them from causing harm to anyone.”

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