LOYALIST MICHAEL Stone intended to blast his way into the Northern Ireland Assembly and assassinate Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness, a Belfast court has heard.
Stone (53) was in the dock in the Crown Court to face 14 charges, including attempted murder, arising from an attack at Stormont in November 2006.
Stone is also charged with possession of an imitation handgun with intent, possession of three knives, an axe and a garrotte as well as improvised explosive devices.
Prosecuting counsel told the court that Stone had revealed his intentions to kill the Sinn Féin leaders in interview with police officers after he was detained.
Stone is claiming that his actions at Stormont on the day were "performance art".
He was later sent back to prison, having been released on licence following the conclusion of the Belfast Agreement in 1998. He had been serving a jail term for the murders of three people at Milltown Cemetery in west Belfast in 1988.
They had been attending the funerals of IRA members killed in Gibraltar.
Hearing the case Mr Justice Deeny adjourned the hearing for one week in response to an application made after the prosecution had concluded the opening statement.
This concerned a request for time to examine new DVD evidence as well as x-ray and photographic evidence. Permission was also sought for the facilities of the court to be used to view the evidence.
Arthur Harvey QC, for the defence, told the court that new video evidence had emerged and was stored on a DVD. However, the images were of variable technical quality and could best be studied by both defence and prosecution on equipment installed in the courtroom.
Similar equipment was not available in prison where Stone has been held since the events at Stormont in November 2006.
Mr Harvey told the judge the DVD evidence would be used in support of the defence claim that Stone's actions were "performance art". Charles Adair QC, prosecuting, said he was in agreement with the request.
Mr Justice Deeny allowed the adjournment and granted the "unusual" use of the courtroom and its equipment to view the evidence.
X-ray and photo evidence would also be examined in a bid to ascertain how the devices were constructed and how "effective" such explosives might have proven.
Earlier Mr Adair told the court that Stone had told police he was "a dissident loyalist freelance".
The court heard that Stone also told the PSNI after his arrest: "My intention was to walk into the debating chamber and look for where Adams, McGuinness and Sinn Féin were sitting. I would have lobbed several nail bombs to cause confusion. I planned to stab Adams and McGuinness and cut their throats."
He told detectives he could not tolerate the presence of republicans in the government of Northern Ireland. He regarded them as "war criminals".
Stone's bid to enter the Assembly chamber was halted when he was trapped in the main revolving door of the building by civilian security staff.
He threw one of his devices into the Great Hall, just outside the Assembly chamber, but it failed to go off.
The trial is scheduled to continue on May 19th.