John Nuttall 'repulsed' by killing but says B.C. legislature terrorist attack necessary

As John Nuttall outlines his plan to bomb the British Columbia legislature on Canada Day, he becomes practically giddy when comparing the annual fireworks in Victoria to the explosions he intends to send ripping through the crowd gathered to celebrate the holiday.

Speaking to an undercover officer in a video played at his trial Thursday, Nuttall is considering the best way to place homemade pressure-cooker bombs on the legislature lawn in the dead of night without drawing suspicion.

Perhaps, he says, he and his wife could wear hard hats and reflective vests to pose as city workers.

"Then again, what kind of workmen are working at three o'clock in the morning?" he asks in a video recorded on June 27, 2013, before answering his own question.

"We're preparing for the celebration," he says, breaking into an almost uncontrollable laugh. "We are making our own fireworks."

'This is a war'

Nuttall and Amanda Korody, who each face four terrorism-related charges, were caught up in a sting that tracked them for four months in the spring of 2013. Their main contact was an RCMP officer who posed as an Arab businessman and offered to help them carry out their attack.

In the latest video played for a BC Supreme Court jury, Nuttall's jovial mood suddenly falls away as he turns his attention to the ultimate goal of the alleged plot.

"What does it feel like to kill somebody? Do you know?" Nuttall asks the officer, who can't be identified. "Because I've got to admit, the thought of what we're doing makes me feel sick."

The undercover officer tells Nuttall it's unnatural to kill and there's nothing unusual about feeling sick about it. In fact, the officer tells Nuttall several times that he doesn't have to go through with the plan if he doesn't want to.

"I do want to do it," says Nuttall.

"Neither of us like it, but we know it has to be done. This is a war."

Spare Muslims, Nuttall says

Later on, he prays as he asks that some potential victims be spared.

"Please, don't let there be any Muslims there," he says.

"Let there be very few women and children, inshallah (if Allah wills it), and no Muslims."

The Crown alleges Nuttall and Korody, who were recent converts to Islam, planned the attack to respond to what they perceived as the mistreatment of Muslims overseas.

In the videos, Nuttall frequently denounces Canadian military involvement in Muslim countries, as well as the federal government's position on Palestinian statehood. He also makes derogatory remarks about Jews.

The videos have featured Nuttall and Korody explaining their plan to the undercover officer and then driving with the officer to pick up bomb-making supplies such as pressure cookers, clocks and wires.

The officer tells Nuttall and Korody that an associate of his will provide C-4 plastic explosives.

The trial has already heard that Nuttall and Korody were recovering heroin addicts who took methadone and had financial problems.

In the video played Thursday, Nuttall tells the officer he is short about $300 for his rent payment, which is due in the next couple of days. He says Korody is stressed out about the rent and she's worried they'll become homeless.

"Jihad is (a duty) for me," he says. "What else is (duty) is to look after her and make sure that she's got everything that makes her happy. So I have two obligations: jihad and my wife."

Nuttall and Korody have said in the videos that while they are prepared to die as martyrs, they hope to survive the Canada Day attack to allow them to plan others.

They have pleaded not guilty.