Leyland anti-vaxxer Geza Tarjanyi: Who is he, what has he protested and why has he been found guilty of harassment?

Who is Geza Tarjanyi?

Geza Tarjanyi, 62, currently lives in Leyland but he previously had an address in Lytham.

Tarjanyi is also known as Gayzer Frackman as he changed his name during an anti-fracking movement.

What has he protested?

Tarjanyi opposed Cuadrilla’s plans to frack at Preston New Road and Roseacre Wood in Lancashire.

He was a prominent anti-fracking campaigner and took part in a series of protests against gas drilling, including lobbying the Prime Minister at Downing Street in 2016.

The former Lytham resident claimed his house had been damaged by earth tremors caused by a fracking test at Preese Hall in 2011.

In 2019, he was arrested at a caravan park in Cheshire after an incident at Preston’s Harris Museum.

Tarjanyi disrupted a monologue performance called ‘Nannas with Banners’, saying he wanted to “stop the lie”.

He was found guilty of a public order offence at Preston Magistrates’ Court and ordered to pay £460.

Judge David Potter, sitting at Preston Crown Court, dismissed Mr Tarjanyi’s bid to appeal the conviction.

Prosecuting, Cecilia Pritchard said Tarjanyi and some cast members knew each other from previous protests at the Preston New Road site, but there had been a “falling out”.

In 2021, Downing Street condemned Tarjanyi’s actions after he accused the deputy chief medical officer of being a “traitor”.

Tarjanyi filmed himself targeting Jonathan Van-Tam as he walked into the Ministry of Defence building in Westminster.

Tarjanyi could be heard calling England’s former deputy chief medical officer a “traitor” in the footage, which circulated widely online, adding he would end up in prison for “genocide”.

Commenting on the video, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “People working to fight the pandemic and save lives, which is what Professor Van-Tam is doing every single day, should never face that kind of appalling behaviour for doing their job.”

“The right to free speech is fundamental to our democracy, but violence, threats or intimidation is absolutely never acceptable.”

In 2022, Tarjanyi was cleared of intending to cause criminal damage to Sajid Javid's south-west London home.

Tarjanyi travelled to the then health minister’s home in Fulham, south-west London, on January 3 to stage a protest against the coronavirus vaccine rollout.

He had spray adhesive and a number of posters, which prosecutors said he was carrying with the intention of destroying or damaging property – a charge the defendant denied.

After a two-day trial at Isleworth Crown Court, the jury found Mr Tarjanyi not guilty.

Why was he found guilty of harassing the former health secretary?

On August 2, 2023, Tarjanyi – who accused former health secretary Matt Hancock of murdering people during the pandemic – was found guilty of harassment.

Tarjanyi shoulder-barged the former health secretary and “shouted ridiculous conspiracy theories” on two separate occasions on January 19 and 24.

Mr Hancock previously told Westminster Magistrates Court he feared the 62-year-old would push him down an escalator during a confrontation over his handling of the pandemic.

He said: “As a public figure, I can’t recall a time when I felt as intimidated as this.”

Tarjanyi denied the charge of harassment without violence and described the claims as “laughable”.

When asked if he followed Mr Hancock, Tarjanyi repeatedly denied it and told the court he was “interviewing him”.

Tarjanyi was found guilty by senior district judge Paul Goldspring.

Mr Goldspring said: “The defendant’s behaviour was oppressive.

“He deliberately intimidated and harassed Mr Hancock.”