William Desmond Te Kahika Jr (born 18 July 1972), also known as Billy TK Jr, is a New Zealand Māori conspiracy theorist, blues musician and guitarist, businessman and former political candidate. During the 2020 New Zealand general election, Te Kahika attracted media coverage both as the leader of the fringe New Zealand Public Party and for his promulgation of conspiracy theories. Te Kahika and the Public Party opposed the New Zealand Government's lockdown restrictions in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Te Kahika, who lives in Whangārei, is the son of Māori musician Billy TK. Early life and musical career Billy Te Kahika Jr is the son of Māori musician Wiremu Te Kahika, also known as Billy TK Sr, who played with the New Zealand rock band The Human Instinct. Te Kahika Jr's mother is Pākehā. He grew up in Māngere, Auckland. Te Kahika followed in his father's footsteps and became a guitarist; like his father he was also called the "Māori Hendrix" by some. Since 1993, he has toured internationally, performing with artists such as George Thorogood, Jimmy Barnes, The Neville Brothers, Ian Moss, Junior Wells, Little Willy Foster, and Joe Satriani. He has performed at festivals, including the Sydney Blues & Roots Festival and the Fiji International Jazz and Blues Festival. He also led a band called "The Groove Shakers." Te Kahika joined the New Zealand Army as he wanted to be an SAS soldier but served as a private in the Royal New Zealand Army Logistic Regiment between September 2001 and January 2003. During that time he attended military intelligence courses. According to the Stuff Circuit documentary "False Profit," Te Kahika left the Army after he was involved in a drunken brawl sparked by when he allegedly verbally insulted a colleague with a speech impediment. Following his stint in the army, he trained as a police recruit in Porirua between May and July 2003. Te Kahika claimed that he left the New Zealand Police after they overlooked his admission that he had been caught smoking glue at the age of 16 years. Te Kahika alleged that the Police did not want him to report that two police officers who had covered up his glue smoking incident. Based on this experience, Te Kahika claimed that the New Zealand Government was corrupt. According to the Stuff Circuit documentary "False Profit", he was eliminated from the Police training programme since he