BULLETIN: Crown drops Assault charge vs. Gary McHale

Posted on June 7, 2011 | 8 Comments
spectator-jan-20-07-gary-mchale.jpg

Hamilton Spectator, Jan 20/07: It's About Accountability: McHale

UPDATES:

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Earlier this afternoon I received a call from Gary McHale shortly after he left the Cayuga courthouse in which he confirmed that the Crown has now dropped the charge of Assault against him because there was “no reasonable prospect for conviction.”   

OPP arrest victim instead of pro-occupation trespasser   

The Assault charge was laid by the OPP in connection with our Feb 27/11 Truth & Reconciliation Rally in Caledonia where we were swarmed, harassed and assaulted by native occupiers and busloads of unionists, anarchists and anti-Israel types led by CUPE 3903 leader Tom Keefer.   

Despite being warned well in advance that busloads of radicals were being bused-in for the specific purpose of helping native occupiers of the Douglas Creek Estates to disrupt our planned rally at the Caledonia Lions Park the OPP refused – again – to provide officers to protect us from them. When we then relocated to private property to try to avoid the planned confrontation the radicals swarmed the property, refused to leave and the OPP refused to remove them.   

When McHale, acting under authority of the owner, instructed Tom Keefer to leave he refused so, acting in accordance with s.41 of the Criminal Code of Canada which gives property owners or agents the right to use reasonable force to remove trespassers, McHale pushed Keefer towards the road.   

DEFENCE OF HOUSE OR REAL PROPERTY    

41. (1) Every one who is in peaceable possession of a dwelling-house or real property, and every one lawfully assisting him or acting under his authority, is justified in using force to prevent any person from trespassing on the dwelling-house or real property, or to remove a trespasser therefrom, if he uses no more force than is necessary.   

(2) A trespasser who resists an attempt by a person who is in peaceable possession of a dwelling-house or real property, or a person lawfully assisting him or acting under his authority to prevent his entry or to remove him, shall be deemed to commit an assault without justification or provocation. [R.S. c.C-34, s.41.]   

Instead of arresting Keefer for Trespass, Mischief (for interfering with the quiet enjoyment of the property) and Assault (for resisting the attempt to remove him) the OPP arrested McHale and charged him with assaulting Keefer.   

OPP arrest non-native victim of Trespass, but refuse to arrest native man for two assaults – despite complaints   

March 27/11 - Native occupiers of Douglas Creek Estates in Caledonia burn our Truth & Reconciliation/Apology monument and our Canadian flag within minutes of attacking us - all while OPP officers watchedThe OPP not only refused to arrest Keefer as he was trespassing, they have also refused to arrest the native man who assaulted me while I was carrying the monument on Feb 27th, and they have refused to arrest the same man who assaulted CANACE cameraman Jeff Parkinson at our subsequen March 27/11 Truth & Reconciliation Rally where we were swarmed, the monument stolen, smashed and then burnt along with our Canadian flag – as OPP officers stood and watched:   

Blatchford re “ridiculous” OPP testimony    

McHale’s last court date on the now-dropped charge was a May 04/11 bail hearing where the Crown finally dropped the bail restrictions that kept him out of Caledonia. Christie Blatchford was present, and after reviewing transcripts of the arresting officer’s outrageous testimony from the first bail review session on April 19/11, wrote a scathing article comparing the law in Haldimand County to America’s Deep South:

“…the law in Haldimand County operates as the law in America’s Deep South once worked, where there was one law for the white man, who could break it with impunity, and another for the black man. In Haldimand County, since the occupation began, there has been one law for natives and another for non-natives.“

I published an excerpt from the transcript of Det.-Const. Barnes “ridiculous” testimony in this article:   

Third unsuccessful attempt by OPP to keep McHale out of Caledonia   

This is now the third unsuccessful attempt by the Ontario Provincial Police to bring criminal charges against McHale for the purpose of applying bail restrictions designed to keep him out of Caledonia. The first two were detailed in Christie Blatchford’s book, Helpless: Caledonia’s Nightmare of Fear and Anarchy, And How The Law Failed All of Us.   

Attempt #1: The first attempt was on Dec 16/06 when the OPP arrested McHale and me for wanting to place Canadian flags on hydro poles. They released me, but held him overnight even though they knew they weren’t going to charge him. According to their own investigation the OPP didn’t even know if what they did was legal. We each have outstanding lawsuits for our respective arrests.   

Attempt #2: The second attempt was the now-infamous ‘Counselling Mischief Not Committed’ charge against McHale laid Dec 07/07 which was stayed by the Crown on April 21/10 after a Court certified charges of Obstructing Justice against two senior OPP officers, one of whom is now the Commissioner – Chris Lewis:   

During this case, which arose out of a protest on Dec 01/07 which sent McHale and Jeff Parkinson to hospital after multiple attacks on police and non-natives by Six Nations smokeshack supporters (without arrest), emails by the former Commissioner Julian Fantino exposed OPP plans to target McHale for the purpose of getting bail restrictions on him to keep him out of Caledonia.   

VoC Comment   

Congratulations to Gary McHale for, yet again, defending himself against the OPP’s campaign to silence the only voice of resistance against their racial policing policies.  This is now the third time the OPP have been unable to make a charge stick to Gary McHale, and not one of them have ever reached trial. One must ask when the OPP will cease their assault on free speech?   

One day those who have watched McHale defend himself against the power of the state will tell stories about how they were there in the courtroom when this ‘ordinary’ schlub named Gary McHale, who had a reading and writing disability don’t you know, stood alone against a racist police force and the best legal minds Ontario taxpayers could afford, wearing the best running shoes he could afford, in order to protect all of us.   

I’m so glad I get to be one of those people.   

P.S. McHale didn’t tell me if he now plans to lay charges against those the OPP refused to charge .  

UPDATES 

References

  • R. v. Gary McHale (Assault) [LINK] (re Truth & Reconciliation Rally, Feb 27/11)

Mark Vandermaas, Editor
VoiceofCanada
info@voiceofcanada.ca

This entry was posted in 1. VoC's MOST IMPORTANT POST, 2. VoC's Favorite Post, Anarchists & Unions in Caledonia, Courage & Sacrifice, CUPE, Gary McHale, Leadership, MUST SEE, Native Protests - Caledonia, One Law for All!, Racial Policing, Tom Keefer. Bookmark the permalink.

8 responses to “BULLETIN: Crown drops Assault charge vs. Gary McHale”

  1. Pingback: OPP Three Times Trounced… | Kaffir Kanuck

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  3. Bill | June 7, 2011 at 7:42 pm |

    A significant victory. I hope he realizes that the police and Keefer’s behavior are actionable. I’d encourage him to pursue it. The court is proving to be the only refuge of civil sanity in this lawless pathocracy.

    VoC: You’re asking if McHale realizes that Keefer’s behaviour (and that of all those he encouraged to swarm the private property) is actionable? If the guy who assaulted Parkinson and me is subject to prosecution? Is a five-pound canary fat? Is a shark’s bum waterproof? Do bears…well, you get the idea. Just got off the phone w/him re this very topic. Thanks ever so much for asking, Bill. 🙂 Mark

  4. Pingback: R. v. Gary McHale (Assault) | Caledonia Victims Project

  5. Pingback: A rare Canadian victory for freedom: Crown drops charges against Caledonia activist | Five Feet of Fury

  6. Bill | June 8, 2011 at 10:03 am |

    Is this great news? Does Pinocchio have wooden cahones?

    VoC: Why, I believe he does! 🙂 Watch for the next VoC post that will address this very question in more depth. Mark

  7. Pingback: MEDIA RELEASE: Father’s Day BBQ and Truth & Reconciliation Rally in Caledonia, Sunday, June 19th | Caledonia Victims Project

  8. Pingback: Caledonia milestone: DCE occupiers & OPP respect rights of non-natives during Truth & Reconciliation Rally | Caledonia Victims Project