Jackson Hayes
The
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The trial of outspoken
Court proceedings had been delayed from Friday when assistant Crown attorney Mitchell Hoffman said the prosecution had erred by proceeding on a summary version of the charges.
McHale was charged with counselling mischief not committed which carries the assumption the offence was over $5,000 and therefore is an indictable offence.
McHale, who is representing himself, was given the weekend to decide how he wished to proceed. Despite the chance of a more significant penalty if convicted, he chose to take his case to the Ontario Superior Court.
The charge stems from a blockade and rally between residents of
He was arrested a few days later for allegedly organizing some of the protesters.
Following his decision in court yesterday, both sides agreed to proceed with his preliminary hearing. In a rare turn, his preliminary hearing is not subject to a publication ban after McHale successfully argued most of the evidence has already been published and is in the public domain.
OPP officer Sergeant Ben Gutenberg took the stand for the Crown and testified a pickup truck belonging to a
As the court watched footage, a voice Gutenberg identified as McHale's was heard telling the pickup driver "you have to force them to arrest you because they will not arrest the natives when they block the road. You have to force them."
Under McHale's cross-examination, Gutenberg was asked if an "elderly woman" shown on videotape organizing the protest could have possibly been committing mischief. The officer said it was possible but admitted she had not been identified or charged.
Outside court, McHale said he chose to have his case heard by the
He plans to challenge "the OPP's abuse of power" under Section 7 of the Charter, discrimination based on race under Sec. 15 and fight possible conviction restrictions under Sec. 26.