John Nuttall, left, and Amanda Korody appear in a courtroom sketch at their terrorism trial in Vancouver on Feb. 2, 2015.Felicity Don/Reuters
A man accused of plotting to explode pressure-cooker bombs outside the B.C. Legislature on Canada Day told an undercover police officer the attack would kill as many people as 9/11, a court has heard.
The trial of John Nuttall and Amanda Korody continued Tuesday in B.C. Supreme Court. The husband and wife are accused of placing the devices outside the legislature on July 1, 2013. They have pleaded not guilty.
The Crown's first witness, the undercover officer who first approached Mr. Nuttall in late February, 2013, told the court Mr. Nuttall almost immediately spoke of his plans for jihad. The officer said Mr. Nuttall quoted Osama bin Laden and praised the men accused of attacking the Boston Marathon and others who targeted VIA Rail. The officer said Mr. Nuttall's initial plan was to launch a Hamas-style rocket at the legislature.
The court watched a video of the officer and Mr. Nuttall discussing his revised plan, with pressure-cooker devices, on June 6, 2013. They were inside an undercover vehicle that had been outfitted with a camera and audio equipment.
Mr. Nuttall can be heard contemplating an attack.
"Do I want to kill innocent people? Because if the answer is yes, then I could really, really do something, really, wow," he said at one point.
Soon after, he compared his plan to 9/11.
"It wouldn't be as spectacular, but the body count would be just the same. And it would have the effect that – it would be pure terrorism. It would cause people to rethink their position of sending troops overseas to kill Muslims when they find out that it was a white guy that did it," he said.
Defence lawyers have not had an opportunity to question the undercover officer. Mr. Nuttall's lawyer previously asked the jury not to reach any conclusions until it had heard all the evidence. She quoted a conversation in which Mr. Nuttall expressed fear about what would happen to him and Ms. Korody if they did not finish building the devices.
The undercover officer, who cannot be named due to a publication ban, told the court his first attempt to speak with Mr. Nuttall was unsuccessful. For the second attempt, in early March, 2013, he posed as a businessman looking for his niece. He said he asked Mr. Nuttall to help and Mr. Nuttall agreed.
The officer said Mr. Nuttall, before long, began speaking about his plans. The officer said Ms. Korody was seldom heard from at first, but would become more involved as the plot went on.
The Crown earlier said Mr. Nuttall and Ms. Korody branded themselves "al-Qaeda Canada." Three pressure-cooker bombs were allegedly built in all. They were put in two separate bags and placed in planters outside the legislature, the Crown has said. The RCMP had intervened to ensure the devices were inert.
Mr. Nuttall appeared much different on the video than he does today. In court he has been clean-shaven with short hair; on the video he has long hair and a beard. The Surrey, B.C., resident can be seen on the video wearing a leather jacket and a cut-off shirt that says "Surrey what."
Mr. Nuttall at one point says he lives every second knowing a police officer could blow his head off. He praises the undercover officer for being "a true Muslim" and reads from a magazine aimed at young jihadis.
The undercover officer told the court Mr. Nuttall had a copy of the same magazine the men accused in the Boston attacks used to create their devices.
Mr. Nuttall allegedly showed the officer a list of items he would need for the pressure-cooker plot. He could be heard on the video saying the Boston attacks did not kill enough people. Three people died at the marathon.
"That's small-time stuff," Mr. Nuttall said.