Man pleads guilty to threatening prime minister during Cambridge campaign stop
A man has pleaded guilty to uttering a threat against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during a campaign stop in Cambridge last year.
According to the agreed statement of facts, while there was a lot of yelling and swearing during the event, Trudeau did not have any direct interactions with the protestors, and they left when he did.
A Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer reviewing media reports the next day saw a sign with an image of Justin Trudeau being led to a noose.
The person holding it was later identified as Thomas Dyer who was arrested on Sept. 10, 2021.
“The threat took place when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his campaign visited a scrap-metal business on Lindsay Road in Cambridge to make a stump speech to promote his party's climate change policies,” the statement of facts reads in part.
When police looked up Dyer’s Facebook they found a video of the event, which remains posted publicly now.
Protestors showed up at several of Trudeau’s campaign stops last summer, leading to concerns for his safety and the Liberal party of Canada cancelling a rally near Bolton.
“Two days prior, the Trudeau campaign made the rare decision to cancel a rally planned near Bolton, Ontario, as the anticipated protest was deemed to endanger public safety. Similar rallies had already occurred in Barrie, Ontario, where it is believed that Mr. Dyer attended,” the statement of fact reads.
This Cambridge event took place just a couple of days after that.
A week and a half after the event, Dyer was arrested and charged with two counts of uttering threats.
He has now pleaded guilty to one count. The other will be withdrawn at sentencing.
The agreed statement of facts says that Dyer was threatening Trudeau, at another point saying he will “punch Trudeau if he gets off the bus.”
Threats were also uttered at police officers, according to the statement of fact.
Dyer is heard on the video justifying his words.
“I can say whatever the hell I want because that’s my freedom of speech,” Dwyer is heard saying in the video.
Defence lawyer Ari Goldkind, who is not involved in the case, says the criminal code is clear when it comes to threatening someone's life. Even if the person saying it does not intend to carry it out.
“If this was said to anybody else at the grocery store, let alone somebody who doesn't have private security details, the police would be acting no differently - it's not as if PM Trudeau got some special treatment here, or that this man is being treated more harshly because he said nasty things about the prime minister,” said Goldkind.
CTV News Kitchener reached out to Dyer's lawyer who said he will have to consult with his client before doing an interview.
Dyer is scheduled to be sentenced on October 20.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.