John Nuttall, Amanda Korody, too incompetent to plan terror attack, defence says

RCMP tactics are on trial at an entrapment hearing in B.C. Supreme Court in Vancouver. Questions are being raised about just how far police can go in these types of situations.

John Nuttall and Amanda Korody were found guilty in June 2015 of masterminding a plot to bomb the B.C. legislature in 2013 on Canada Day.

Their defence lawyers want the verdict set aside. They say RCMP tactics amount to entrapment.

They say Nuttall and Korody were too incompetent to plan a terrorist attack on their own.

The poverty-stricken pair of drug abusers were struggling to accomplish basic tasks, court heard.

Then RCMP undercover agents offered them gifts and helped shape their plans, steering them away from more fanciful ideas, such as plans to build short-range missiles.

RCMP Cpl. Stephen Matheson testified that he believed James Nuttall and Amanda Korody were "capable of violence" at any time.

Matheson described how RCMP were constantly balancing the risk to the public and the couple's commitment to Jihad.

Questions were raised about gifts the RCMP gave to the couple, including food, cell phones, clothing and groceries.

Matheson says the gifts were given to build rapport, but dwindled because "he was coming back to talk to us anyway."

He also says he was concerned about providing any spiritual guidance on Islam to Nuttall and Korody.

"It's just not our place as RCMP," he said in court.

In June 2015 Nuttall and Korody were found guilty of plotting to explode homemade pressure-cooker bombs at the B.C. legislature during 2013 Canada Day celebrations.

The couple described themselves as jihadist warriors, waging a holy war against the West for its treatment of Muslims.

The trial is set to run through the week, then resume in October.