Richard Trevor Sivell, 43, was due for sentencing in the Tauranga District Court after being found guilty of threatening to kill Jacinda Ardern and two other charges. Photo / NZME
Richard Trevor Sivell, 43, was due for sentencing in the Tauranga District Court after being found guilty of threatening to kill Jacinda Ardern and two other charges. Photo / NZME
An arrest warrant has been issued for a Taupō man who made online threats to “hang” former Prime Minister Dame Jacinda Ardern, after he failed to appear in court.
Richard Trevor Sivell, 43, was due in the Tauranga District Court on Tuesday for sentencing on three charges.
He was also found guilty of obstructing police by refusing to come out of his caravan when they raided his Te Puke property in March 2022 and failing to provide the PIN for his seized mobile phone.
Sivell’s trial was delayed after he went on the run for 20 months after being granted bail following his initial arrest on March 29, 2022.
Judge Greg Hollister-Jones said Sivell had contacted the court registry to advise he was not able to attend court because he had no means of transport to Tauranga, and intended to request sentencing in the Taupō District Court.
The judge said Sivell had previously failed to appear in court and the police had sought a warrant for his arrest.
He ordered that the warrant could only be withdrawn by a District Court judge because of the nature of the charges and Sivell’s history of not appearing.
The maximum penalty for threatening to kill is seven years in prison.
Richard Sivell was arrested by police at his Te Puke home on March 29, 2022 and charged with threatening to kill the Prime Minister.
At the trial, the police prosecution produced evidence of screenshots and audio recordings in which Sivell made repeated death threats towards Ardern on Telegram, a platform popular with conspiracists and anti-government protestors.
The police case was that Sivell’s posts intended to influence others to share his views, and that police did not have to prove he intended to carry out the threat to kill Ardern.
A recording of Sivell threatening to “hold the Prime Minister accountable at Nuremberg 2.0″ was among those played in court during his trial.
“We’re going to string you up and we’re going to hang you for crimes against humanity and ... destroying our country,” Sivell said in the recording.
He made other comments referring to Ardern as “Jezebel”, comparing her unfavourably to Hitler, saying she and others should “hang”, talking about firing squads and building gallows, and calling for the “public shaming” and execution of “compromised” media.
“We should put them in stocks and throw fruit at them ... then snap their necks. I am going to hang these motherf***ers ...” he stated in one recording.
“You hear that Jezebel, we’re coming for you. I’ve got a noose with your name on it ...”
Sivell declined to give evidence at his trial, but submitted the police allegations of making death threats against Ardern were “hearsay”, and there was no direct proof of him having done so.
He also challenged the validity of the search warrant used in the raid.
Trial judge Christopher Harding convicted Sivell on all three charges.
Judge Harding said Sivell must have been aware his online threats could be seen by others, the warrant was legal and Sivell had deliberately obstructed police.
Sandra Conchie is a senior journalist at the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post who has been a journalist for 24 years. She mainly covers police, court and other justice stories, as well as general news. She has been a Canon Media Awards regional/community reporter of the year.
