Arsonist ‘obsessed’ with pandemic restrictions jailed for setting fire to nightclub
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A man has been sentenced to six years in prison after setting fire to a Bristol nightclub in a bid to stop the introduction of Covid vaccine passports.
Owen Marshall, of Royate Hill, Greenbank, set fire to a petrol soaked towel and posted it through the letterbox of SWX in Nelson Street two months after threatening to do so in a letter to the club.
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Hide AdMarshall, 29, also delivered a letter claiming responsibility for the arson attack to the home of Bristol Mayor, Marvin Rees, a day after the incident.
In the letter he said he intended to it to be a warning to other venues.
He later threw a brick through the window of the Barley Mow pub, in Barton Road, with a note attached claiming vaccine passports were a breach of human rights.
Then, on August 2 this year, nightclub Lakota in Upper York Street, received a handwritten saying it would ‘sustain substantial damage like SWX’ if it introduced Covid passports.
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Hide AdAs part of the investigation into these incidents, hundreds of hours of CCTV were reviewed by police and officers tracked the movements of a man they believed was involved.
After a public appeal, the man was subsequently identified as Marshall and he was arrested.
Marshall initially denied responsibility for the offences, but pleaded guilty to charges of arson being reckless as to whether life is endangered, criminal damage and making threats to cause criminal damage at Bristol Crown Court in September.
He was sentenced to six years in prison on Wednesday.
Speaking about the case, investigating officer PC David Stevenson said: “Owen Marshall’s actions were motivated by the completely misguided belief the venues he targeted were about to introduce Covid vaccine passports.
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Hide Ad“His obsession with Covid restrictions ultimately led him to carrying out the extremely reckless attack on SWX and it is only through sheer luck no one was physically harmed.”
He added: “Staff had been at the venue just hours before and they could easily still have been inside when he used an accelerant to start the fire.
“More than 130 fire service personnel were also put at risk tackling the resulting blaze which took several hours to extinguish.’’
He added: “The attack has had a devastating impact on the club and the three businesses based below it with hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of damage and lost revenue caused.
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Hide Ad“These were businesses which had all suffered as result of the pandemic and which were looking forward to serving their community once more only for their livelihoods to again be put in jeopardy.
“While Marshall has never explained his actions, I am pleased he ultimately accepted responsibility as it negated the need for a trial.”