Anti-vaxxer who shoulder-barged Matt Hancock while accusing him of murdering people in the Covid pandemic avoids jail after being found guilty of harassment
- Geza Tarjanyi ‘deliberately intimidated and harassed’ former health secretary
An anti-vaxxer who shoulder-barged Matt Hancock while accusing him of murdering people in the Covid pandemic has avoided jail after being found guilty of harassment.
Geza Tarjanyi, 62, of Leyland in Lancashire, ‘deliberately intimidated and harassed’ the former health secretary and ‘shouted ridiculous conspiracy theories’ on two separate occasions earlier this year.
Mr Hancock, who finished third in I’m a Celebrity…Get me out of Here! last November had told Westminster Magistrates’ Court how he was first harassed by Tarjanyi on January 19.
‘As we walked past the top end of Downing Street, there is a semi-permanent protest area that has regular protestors in it,’ he said.
‘Because I’m a well-known public figure I am trained in how to observe what is going on around me and try to avoid incidents.
Geza Tarjanyi, 62, of Leyland in Lancashire, ‘deliberately intimidated and harassed’ the former health secretary and ‘shouted ridiculous conspiracy theories’ on two separate occasions earlier this year
Tarjanyi confronted the former minister near Parliament and yelled ‘Why did you kill so many people with Midazolam?’
‘It is a hazard protest that amalgamates a number of conspiracy theorists, some relate to conspiracy theories around the [Covid 19] pandemic, which I was very closely involved in.
‘After passing the protest someone caught up with me and started making a fuss.’
Mr Hancock said Tarjanyi was ‘within his comfort zone’ as he yelled: ‘Why did you kill so many people with Midazolam?’
Asked what Tarjanyi may have meant, Mr Hancock replied: ‘Yes, I’m aware of a false conspiracy theory spread on the internet by people who don’t believe that a vaccine should be taken, so called anti-vaxxers.
‘A part of the conspiracy theory is that I intentionally killed people with a drug called midazolam during the pandemic, this completely untrue I never even heard of midazolam until this theory was brought to my attention.
‘This is because these people want to try persuade people not to take the vaccine and that people died during Covid because I gave them this drug.’
Mr Hancock said Tarjanyi was ‘boisterous’ and left him feeling ‘physically intimidated.’
The MP told the court that he was approached by Tarjanyi again five days later, after leaving Downing Street following breakfast with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, where he yelled: ‘You murdered millions of people’.
Mr Hancock said: ‘He could quite easily have stayed physically apart from me, I don’t think the shouting at me, even without physical interaction, would be deemed an acceptable way to behave.
‘He was behaving in an aggressive manner and had plenty of space to go around me.’
Mr Hancock said he ‘felt more intimidated this time’ because he was unaccompanied.
As he approached the barriers, he said he hoped Tarjanyi would stay on the other side and allow him to continue on his journey.
But Tarjanyi followed him through the barriers, prompting the politician to approach members of TFL staff and ask them for their assistance.
One employee, Sinead Grimes, accompanied Mr Hancock and tried to persuade Tarjanyi to stop.
Five days later Tarjanyi followed Mr Hancock into Westminster tube station and shoved him at the top of the escalator as he asked: ‘Why did you murder millions of people?’
The former health secretary was ‘shaken up’ by the confrontation, during which he was asked why he had ‘killed so many people’
But Tarjanyi shouted at Ms Grimes: ‘What are you doing protecting this man? You are so stupid, you work on the Underground.’
Mr Hancock told the court: ‘He was clearly intent on harassing anybody who was going to come to my aid.
‘At this point I’m trying to get down the escalator and try get away from him and he was now having a go at the person coming to my aid, I didn’t know what I was going to do to get away from him.
‘I felt extremely intimidated… I thought the behaviour was outrageous.
‘I turn to go down second set of escalators and at the top of escalator, having been made extremely uncomfortable going down the first escalator with this man.
‘I got to the top of the second escalator I wanted to try resolve the situation and try to ensure I’d be safe going down.
‘As I stopped the man pushed into me and I felt myself being pushed towards the top of the escalator.’
Mr Hancock, accompanied by Ms Grimes, was followed by Tarjanyi on the Jubilee line train for the two stops to Bond Street station.
‘He carried on shouting at me and members of the public on the train tried to persuade him to desist.
‘One person, on my right, said ‘I’m a doctor and I thought you did a good job in pandemic’ and ‘don’t worry about all this rubbish this man is saying’ Mr Hancock told the court.
Mr Hancock exited the train at Bond Street and he was separated from Tarjanyi by crowds of commuters.
The ex-minister told the court: ‘I didn’t do anything about the first incident [on January 19] because it was just one incident.
‘After the second incident [on January 24] by the same person I felt it would be a risk to my personal safety to go about my normal place of work around Parliament.’
Parveen Mansoor, defending, suggested Tarjanyi had ‘accidentally’ bumped into Mr Hancock at the top of the elevator, rather than it being a deliberate barge.
Mr Hancock replied: ‘Oh please, accidentally? I was walking towards an escalator as you can see it was the third set of escalators and you saw [on the video] I stopped and turned towards him.
‘The idea it was therefore my fault he walked into me is ridiculous, that isn’t what happened.’
Giving evidence Tarjanyi described himself as a ‘full-time campaigner’ and a ‘journalist’ but said he was ‘absolutely not’ an anti-vaxxer.
Tarjanyi said in the past he had tried to speak to other senior politicians including Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Levelling up Minister Michael Gove and Labour shadow health secretary Wes Streeting.
Asked how he would describe his own demeanour on 19 January he said: ‘Like a journalist asking questions.’
He also claimed it was Mr Hancock who barged into him.
This afternoon, Tarjanyi was sentenced to eight weeks jail, suspended for two years, must carry out 200 hours of unpaid work and was handed a three-year restraining order, preventing him for approaching or contacting the MP, directly or indirectly.
Tarjanyi must also pay £930 in prosecution costs and Ms Grimes was awarded £100 for her ‘entirely professional, courteous and polite behaviour’.
Chief Magistrate Paul Goldspring said: ‘Much of this was made as to whether this was a journalistic endeavour.
‘There is certainly no evidence of any training, qualification or employment of such.
‘Accredited journalists might and should hold politicians to account. They may door-step or even follow politicians when seeking an answer to their questions.
‘But they certainly do not abuse, bump into and insult. His claim to be a member of His Majesty’s press was disingenuous.’
Mr Hancock said of Tarjanyi today: ‘This individual didn’t just attack me, but he’s attacked several MPs and other public servants.
‘We in the UK pride ourselves as a global symbol of democracy, built around respectful debate to build a more inclusive and harmonious society. Violence against anyone for their political beliefs is unacceptable.
‘I would like to thank the CPS, Transport for London and the British Transport Police who have been fantastic throughout.’
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