Man on trial for threatening to kill PM sent 88 abusive emails
Michael Cruickshank outside the North Shore District Court. Photo / File
Man on trial for threatening to kill PM sent 88 abusive emails Mon, 26 Jul 2021, 2:33PM I will personally wipe you off this planet and I will blow your head off are death threats a man allegedly sent to Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and then Justice Minister Andrew Little among a barrage of abusive emails over a three-month period.
The Crown alleges Michael Cruickshank, in his 50s, regularly referred to the Prime Minister and Government as criminals, slave traders and state-sanctioned terrorists among some 88 lengthy emails he sent between October 2019 and January 2020.
This is not the first time threats have been made against Ardern. Last month a 34-year-old man appeared in the Wellington District Court after he allegedly threatened to kill the New Zealand prime minister. In 2020, a man pleaded not guilty to a charge of sending threatening emails to Ardern between October 2019 and January 2020. Also in 2020, an Australian man was jailed for making threats against Ardern, Muslims and mosques. Cormac Patrick Rothsey pleaded guilty in a Newcastle court to charges of posting extremist threats on social media in September 2019. Matthew Burns, from County Armagh, admitted sending Ardern a photo five days after the March 15 Christchurch mosque attacks of a gun with a silencer with the message: “You re next.”
This is not the first time threats have been made against Ardern. In 2020, a man pleaded not guilty to a charge of sending threatening emails to Ardern between October 2019 and January 2020. Court documents seen by
Stuff allege Michael Christopher Cruickshank, sent three emails on January 21, having already sent 89 emails between October 2019 and January 2020. He is set to go on trial in May. Also in 2020, an Australian man was jailed for making threats against Ardern, Muslims and mosques. Cormac Patrick Rothsey pleaded guilty in a Newcastle court to charges of posting extremist threats on social media in September 2019. Matthew Burns, from County Armagh, admitted sending Ardern a photo five days after the March 15 Christchurch mosque attacks of a gun with a silencer with the message: “You re next.”
Man charged with threatening to kill Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern
16 Apr, 2021 02:56 AM
3 minutes to read
A man was arrested on Tuesday for threatening to kill Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. Photo / Sylvie Whinray
A man was arrested on Tuesday for threatening to kill Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. Photo / Sylvie Whinray
An Auckland man has been charged with threatening to kill Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.
The 30-year-old, who has been granted interim name suppression, was arrested in Counties Manukau on Tuesday, police told the Herald.
The defendant did not attend his first appearance at the Manukau District Court today because he suffered an injury, his counsel told the courtroom.