Destiny Church leader Brian Tamaki and church member Jennifer Louise Marshall enter Auckland District Court ahead of a case review hearing. Photo / Dean Purcell
Destiny Church leader Brian Tamaki and church member Jennifer Louise Marshall enter Auckland District Court ahead of a case review hearing. Photo / Dean Purcell
Four prominent Destiny Church members - including founder Brian Tamaki and wife Hannah - briefly appeared side-by-side in Auckland District Court today regarding allegations they violated the Covid-19 lockdown last year by organising or attending Auckland Domain protests.
However, the case review hearing was a brief affair. Judge Brooke Gibson began it by announcing that it would instead be rescheduled for next month.
An additional hearing this afternoon for Brian Tamaki, regarding his latest bail violation charges, was also reset.
The Tamakis were joined by fellow defendants Jennifer Louise Marshall and Kaleb Cave, as well as several supporters - one wearing a "Free Tamaki" T-shirt referring to Brian Tamaki's nine-day Mount Eden Prison stay in January. It was the first time the four defendants have appeared in court together.
The Tamakis declined to comment outside the courtroom, as did lawyer Brandyn Gloyn, who appeared on behalf of Ron Mansfield QC.
All four are charged with intentionally failing to comply with the Covid-19 Public Health Response Act, which could carry a penalty of up to six months imprisonment and a $4000 fine.
Cave, who served as an MC during some of the Freedom & Rights Coalition protests, is also a worship leader at Destiny Church under the organisation's Sound of Destiny music ministry. He is charged with organising or attending Auckland Domain protests on October 2, 16 and 30.
Marshall, who is Destiny Church's director of operations and Brian Tamaki's assistant, is accused of attending Auckland Domain protests on October 2 and October 16.
Hannah Tamaki, meanwhile, is charged with attending the November 20 protest, during which she was filmed taking the stage to introduce her husband to the crowd. She joked at the time that the couple had been in touch daily with her husband's lawyer.
By far, Brian Tamaki has had the most experience before a judge in recent months following allegations he illegally attended Auckland Domain rallies on October 2 and 16, as well as November 20. He's also been accused multiple times - and admonished by judges - for allegedly violating his bail conditions by continuing to attend rallies.
His jail stay in January was after law enforcement authorities said he breached bail conditions by speaking at an anti-vaccine rally in Christchurch attended by more than 100 people, more than was allowed at the time. As a condition of his release, a 24-hour curfew was put in place as an additional bail condition.
People at the Freedom & Rights Coalition lockdown protest at Auckland Domain on October 30, 2021. Photo / Brett Phibbs
However, Brian Tamaki celebrated a legal victory earlier this week after a High Court justice allowed a variation to the curfew so that he could go on holiday later this month. With outdoor gatherings newly allowed again, the chance of Brian Tamaki violating bail by attending an illegal gathering while on holiday is no longer an issue, Justice Mathew Downs wrote.
"That Mr Tamaki may holiday is not because a defendant may ordinarily do so while on bail," Downs said. "Rather, because the landscape informing Mr Tamaki's bail conditions has changed since they were imposed."
Initially, a fifth Destiny Church member, Paul Craig Thompson, had also been scheduled to appear in Auckland District Court today. However, he indicated to the court in February that he intends to plead guilty.
He was arrested with Brian Tamaki after the first large lockdown protest at Auckland Domain on October 2, which was estimated to have been attended by about 2000 people. Under alert level 3 restrictions at the time, most non-essential gatherings that involved the mixing of bubbles were banned. Weddings and funerals were exceptions to the rule, but for groups of no more than 10 people.
Thompson was charged again with violating lockdown rules after allegedly attending a follow-up protest at Auckland Domain on October 30 that had an estimated attendance of 5000 people.
