Hundreds of people take part in a Canada Day ‘Living Flag’ photo on the lawn of the B.C. Legislature on July 1, 2013.Chad Hipolito/The Globe and Mail
Minutes after he and his wife allegedly placed what they believed were pressure-cooker bombs outside the B.C. Legislature, John Nuttall let out a chuckle.
"Now all we've got to do is turn on the radio and listen," he said.
Mr. Nuttall and Amanda Korody were arrested that same day, July 1, 2013, in an undercover RCMP sting. Their B.C. Supreme Court trial began last month. They have each pleaded not guilty.
On Tuesday, the jury viewed police surveillance video from the day of the alleged attack. Mr. Nuttall and Ms. Korody began in a hotel room outside Victoria, where Mr. Nuttall woke his wife with a call to arms: "Wake up for jihad." He added, "Let's prepare for battle and disgrace the hypocrites."
Within a couple of hours, Mr. Nuttall and Ms. Korody were at the legislature, driven by the undercover officer they believed was a businessman on their side. As they pulled up, the undercover officer asked Mr. Nuttall how much of the government building would remain standing.
"Hopefully none," Mr. Nuttall said.
As Mr. Nuttall left the van to allegedly place the first two devices, the officer urged him not to panic. Mr. Nuttall had earlier become paranoid about a man on a bike. But, despite the warning, Mr. Nuttall said he had a close call with a homeless man who was sleeping nearby.
"He woke up and he's like, 'What's that?' and I pulled out my blade …" Mr. Nuttall told the officer upon returning to the vehicle.
"No, no, no, no, no …" replied the officer.
"He came this close, brother, I'm telling you," Mr. Nuttall said.
"You were going to kill a bum," the officer said.
"We're not playing games," Mr. Nuttall countered, though he said the homeless man ultimately fell back to sleep.
The officer, who cannot be identified, was on Tuesday asked by the Crown if the situation with the homeless man had been expected. The officer said no.
When Ms. Korody returned to the vehicle, she said her placing of a single device occurred without incident. She said no one would be able to see the device unless they looked directly into the planter where it was stored.
The three then left the scene.
Mr. Nuttall, who along with his wife converted to Islam years earlier, several times said "Allahu Akbar" (God is great). He also said he was proud of himself and the others. "I'm proud. I'm proud of you all," he said.
The devices – which had already been rendered inert by the RCMP – were timed to go off 15 minutes apart, so those responding to the first blast were hit by the second.
"When the cops get there, that's when I want it to happen. Bam," Mr. Nuttall said.
He earlier said the Canada Day attack would make the country a "laughingstock." Mr. Nuttall has at several points expressed resentment at Canada's treatment of Palestine, and at its military action in Afghanistan. "The whole world is going to laugh at this country," he said.
Despite his comments leading up to the legislature and in leaving it, Mr. Nuttall had earlier expressed some reservations to his wife. He said he didn't want a "huge kill count," only to hurt the government. Ms. Korody replied: "I don't care if no one dies."
Mr. Nuttall also drank methadone to ward off getting "dope sick" and left money in his hotel room to cover the cost of taking some towels.
Ms. Korody had also shown some nerves. Before they left the hotel, she said she was "really panicking. I'm having heart palpitations. Anxiety, stress, I'm feeling really stressed out."
The only witness at the trial so far has been the undercover officer who first approached Mr. Nuttall. The jury has spent much of its time watching recordings of the couple.
The trial earlier this week heard Mr. Nuttall and Ms. Korody considered backing out of the plan, but felt it was too late since their associates – all undercover police officers – expected them to see it through.