Cult members dubbed coroner a ‘necromancer’ before kidnap attempt

Four people were jailed for up to seven years after bursting into a coroner’s court in Essex with handcuffs

Cult members claimed a coroner was a “necromancer” before bursting into a court with handcuffs in an attempt to kidnap him.
Mark Christopher, 59, led the anti-establishment cult into a coroner’s court in Essex in April 2023, after accusing senior coroner Lincoln Brookes of “interfering with the dead”.
He and three other members of the group, calling themselves the “federal postal court” or the “court of the people”, were arrested and have now been jailed for up to seven years.
Mr Brookes, who was not at the coroner’s court in Chelmsford at the time, said he frequently has nightmares about the incident, Chelmsford Crown Court heard.
The judge, Mr Justice James Goss, described Christopher, 59, as the “self-appointed leader” of the group. He had given himself the title of “chief judge of England and all dominions”.
Matthew Martin, 47, was a so-called “sheriff and coroner”, Sean Harper, 38, was a “sheriff” and his wife Shiza Harper, 45, was a “postal inspector” for the group.
Martin, who represented himself, told the court he was “here to save younglings”, adding: “We find younglings tied up in places like underneath Asda supermarkets.”
Narita Bahra KC, for Sean and Shiza Harper, said the couple had been “in thrall” of Christopher and had been “indoctrinated to believe [he] was a judge who had the power to serve warrants”.
In one of the letters he wrote to Mr Brookes, Christoper said the coronial process was illegal because “you can’t be dead on paper”.
Allister Walker, prosecuting, said the cult members’ mission was to “close down the courts” in Essex. “Part and parcel of that was arresting, detaining and taking the coroner himself, Mr Brookes,” he said.
All four members denied conspiracy to kidnap and conspiracy to commit false imprisonment, but were all found guilty on both counts following a two-week trial.
The judge said Christopher “lay at the very heart of these offences” as he jailed him for seven years on Monday.
He said Martin, Shiza Harper and Sean Harper “were prepared to commit offences while doing [Christopher’s] bidding”, and jailed them for 30 months each.
Mr Brookes said he had received a series of “very bizarre” letters and emails accusing him of “detrimental necromancy” and warning that “corporal punishment may be administered”.
On April 20 2023 he had been driving to court after accompanying a family member to hospital when he received a call warning him not to come to the building.
In a victim impact statement read out in court by prosecutor Mr Walker, he wrote: “I regularly have nightmares about the incident and the suspects attending my home.”
Michelle Brown, the Area Coroner of Essex, who was in the coroner’s court when the defendants burst in, said her life had been “changed forever”.
“I do believe I will never feel safe,” she told the court, adding: “I wake up at night thinking I can hear someone trying to get in, then I sit up all night.”
Det Chief Insp Nathan Hutchinson, of Essex Police, said after the sentencing: “Whilst we appreciate freedom of opinion, this group’s ideologies are nothing more than nonsensical intimidation and oppression with no regard for the law.
“Christopher told the group that they could take control of an active court, make arrests, and threaten public servants who were just trying to do their job supporting the people of Essex.”