COVID denier Mak Parhar died from drugs, not virus: B.C. coroner

B.C.’s coroner says a prominent anti-vaccine and COVID denier died in 2021 of “ethanol and mixed illicit drug toxicity,” although he also tested positive for the illness.

The report says Mak Parhar was found by a family member in the bathroom of his New Westminster home on Nov. 4, 2021.

Coroner Damian Balam’s report into the death says Parhar was found lying on the floor with drug paraphernalia including a syringe, a glass pipe, and a burnt spoon nearby.

Balam’s report says Parhar had ethanol, cocaine, and fentanyl in his system at the time of death, ruling it accidental. The report also says he had COVID-19 at the time of his death, though the coroner found it played no role.

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Parhar, an anti-vaccine and flat Earth conspiracy theorist, came to prominence during the pandemic using social media and in-person appearances at protests to amplify his views.

Prior to his death, Parhar had stated in a livestreamed video that he had a cough and chills, and felt fatigued, but insisted it was “not CONVID (sic) because CONVID (sic) doesn’t exist.”

“What happened to my immune system? How did this manifest?” he asked.

The man was charged in 2020 with three counts of breaking the Quarantine Act for failing to self-isolate for two weeks after he returned to B.C. from a flat-earth conference titled “Flatoberfest 2020” in South Carolina.

Speaking at an anti-mask rally at the Vancouver Art Gallery during the height of the pandemic, he said he “played their game” on the flight by wearing a mask on board but removed it when he was off “the radar.”

Parhar also admitted to the crowd that he ignored multiple warnings from officers before being handed tickets.