Sept 28, 2007
Kingston Whig Standard
Stringent security measures were in place as the trial of three men accused of confronting Canadian military personnel during a native protest last year began yesterday.
Shawn Michael Brant and Jerome J. Barnhart are facing several charges of uttering death threats stemming from the Nov. 15 incident east of Deseronto, in which a convoy of military students on a training mission happened upon a group of native protesters blocking Highway 2. Barnhart is facing an additional count of mischief, while Mario Baptiste Jr. is facing two counts of assault and one charge of mischief.
The proceedings are being held before a Brockville-area judge, Charles Anderson of the Ontario Court of Justice.
As with all court appearances involving Brant this year, the Ontario Provincial Police had strict security measures in place at the Dundas Street West courthouse - those entering the public gallery were asked to empty their pockets and were scanned using a metal detector.
While Baptiste and Barnhart sat with friends and family in the public gallery, Brant was seated between lawyers at the defence table during the day, often taking notes and whispering in the ear of his solicitor, Napanee-area lawyer Rob Smart.
During the early morning hours of Nov. 15, a number of Tyendinaga Mohawk demonstrators staged an event on Deseronto Road in protest of a proposed $30-million residential development on property subject to land-claim negotiations.
What had been a quiet, peaceful protest deteriorated rapidly into a confrontation as the group drove to Highway 2 to cover a sign advertising the development around 11:45 a.m. and a convoy of Canadian military vehicles happened upon the scene.
According to Master Cpl. Stephane Dionne, who was in the lead truck, the contingent of 10-ton vehicles and an army pickup truck were driven primarily by military students who were learning how to operate the machines.
As the group stopped in front of the protesters - a pickup truck pulled across Highway 2 - Dionne got out of the vehicle and approached, unaware of what the demonstration was concerning.
"The first sentence I said was, 'How are you doing' - we didn't know the situation or what was going on," he said during his afternoon testimony yesterday.
The reaction from his simple inquiry shocked the veteran military officer, who was in charge of the military exercise.
"They just started screaming and yelling ... I have never seen people that angry before," he said. "They said, 'Go home, you don't deserve to drive on our land' ... and saying, 'White s--t, we are going to f---ing kill you.' "
Before the unarmed group had a chance to turn around and back out of the scene, a protester in a minivan raced to the rear of the convoy and blocked in the last vehicle, he said.
Dionne said he called 911 and told students to stay inside the vehicles and lock the doors.
His concern wasn't necessarily with his own safety, but with the students who lacked training to deal with the situation.
"You feel stress and are panicking ... you don't want the students to feel stress like that. They don't deserve that and we don't deserve that."
During two close confrontations with shouting protesters - whom he identified as Brant and Barnhart - Dionne said both threatened to kill him. However, under cross-examination he acknowledged it was "hard to tell who said what" during the chaos of the situation.
After about an hour, the group of vehicles were permitted to pass through the area.
However, while all of the 10-ton trucks managed to pull away, Dionne said he had trouble getting into radio contact with those in the GMC truck, which was the last vehicle in the convoy.
After pulling over to the side of the road and looking back through the top hatch of his truck, Dionne said as many as 40 protesters mobbed the GMC truck - several were on top of the hood, and one was observed ripping off an antenna and attempting to smash the windshield of the vehicle as the driver attempted to pull away.
A sequence of pictures taken by Napanee Beaver reporter Dominick Wisniewski - which were the subject of a search warrant by provincial police - depicted a chaotic scene, with protesters swarming the truck as it pulled away, one in particular slamming his fist against the vehicle before ripping off an antenna.
Lead investigator Det.-Const. Doug Weese chronicled details of his investigation, which included a number of interviews with military personnel who were a part of the convoy.
During cross examination, Smart questioned the tactics Weese used during the course of his investigation - namely why native officers were not involved with the probe and inferring the veteran detective had set out to charge Brant.
When asked by the judge about his line of questioning, Smart was quick to respond.
"Ultimately, I am trying to show the OPP officer was trying to find charges to lay against Mr. Brant," he said.
The trial is expected to continue today.