Richard Sivell

Richard Trevor Sivell is a New Zealand conspiracy theorist and "sovereign citizen" who was jailed for threatening to kill then-Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern in 2021 and 2022. He spent 20 months evading police before his 2024 trial and also failed to appear for sentencing on 7 January 2025.

In a separate matter he is defending charges of possessing an objectionable publication, namely the livestream that was broadcast during the 2019 Christchurch mosque shootings. In December 2024 he was told his next court date would be 5 March 2025.

Threats to kill Jacinda Ardern Arrest and disappearance, 2022

Sivell made threats to kill Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Counterspin Media's Telegram channel in late 2021 and early 2022. Police received an anonymous tip-off from a listener and joined the channel using a fake identity to gather evidence. A number of audio and text messages from Sivell were used as evidence in the trial that followed.

While he was evading police, researchers from The Disinformation Project believed that Sivell was active in at least two Telegram channels. His messages talked about adding individuals including a District Court Judge to a "Nuremberg List" – a reference to executing war criminals. Researchers also believed that he had fallen out with a number of others in the conspiracy community, including Kelvyn Alp of Counterspin and Brian Tamaki.

Re-arrest and conviction, 2024–2025 After more than 20 months on the run, Sivell was arrested on 9 January 2024. New charges were laid, relating to his missed court dates in April 2022. His trial began in October 2024 and in July 2025 Sivell was jailed for 11 months.

Sivell was convicted on three charges – threatening to kill, obstruction (relating to his 2022 arrest), and the bail-related charge which had been laid in 2024. In July 2025 he was sentenced to 11 months in prison at the Tauranga District Court.

Possession of objectionable publication On 15 March 2019 there was a mass shooting in Christchurch targeting Muslims. The murderer carried a camera throughout, livestreaming to social media. The resulting video of the shooting was quickly classified by David Shanks of the Office of Film and Literature Classification as "objectionable" under the Films, Videos, and Publications Classification Act 1993, making it a criminal offence to possess or distribute it.

Sivell has been charged with having and distributing a copy of the video. He appeared at Taupō District Court in August 2024 and refused to make a plea. The judge deemed his plea to be not guilty.

He next appeared on 30 October and requested a jury trial. (Between these appearances, Sivell was convicted in Tauranga on charges of threatening to kill.) Because Taupō doesn't hold jury trials the case was moved to Rotorua,

Refusing the help of a duty lawyer, Sivell was told that his next appearance would be on 5 March 2025 and released on bail. The judge warned that any further breaches or failures to appear would lead to Sivell being held in custody. Judge Paul Geoghegan, in June 2024, and Judge Christopher Harding, that October, both dismissed Sivell's arguments as "gobbledegook". At his appearance on 17 December the court's duty lawyer informed the court that, "he’s a sovereign citizen...I’m an agent of the Crown, he was very pleasant but he doesn’t want any help.” He also texted Schulte to say, "I'm coming for you Peter [...] watch the wrath of God fall upon you." Sivell's harassment of Schulte escalated from a dispute over whether the council was responsible for repairing potholes in a driveway.

He was a regular voice on Counterspin's Telegram channel, and commonly invoked the Nuremberg code in relation to politicians and law enforcement. He spread COVID-19 misinformation, 5G misinformation, and homophobia.

Sivell participated in the 2022 Wellington protest, which occurred the month before he was first arrest for making death threats.