Mohawk militant denied bail; Group leader breached conditions of previous release
Dale Morrisey / Osprey News Network; CP
Local news - Friday, July 06, 2007 @ 00:00
Mohawk protest leader Shawn Brant will be cooling his heels behind bars until his preliminary hearing after Justice D.K. Kirkland refused to grant him bail yesterday.
Security was tight in the Napanee courtroom, where Crown attorney Robert Morrison said there was no doubt Brant was the leader of a group that blocked roads and the main CN rail line near Deseronto during the national aboriginal day of action on June 29. He said that Brant had a history of such action, pointing to Brant's last court appearance in May.
That appearance stemmed from an April rail blockade near a quarry that is being occupied by protesters. The quarry is on land whose ownership is disputed by the Mohawks.
Brant, 43, had been granted bail twice before in recent months, but breached conditions of his release when he took part in last week's protest.
Morrison asked the judge to consider the fact that there was "a virtual certainty he will commit further activities."
"The previous conditions did not stop him from talking about blockades and protests and going through with them," said Morrison. "We simply can not release a man who has shown you and told you that he intends to commit future actions."
But Brant's defender, Toronto-based civil rights lawyer Peter Rosenthal, likened his client to Martin Luther King and said Brant "had an honest belief that it was Mohawk territory he was parking the bus on, and this is a great hurdle for the Crown."
Justice Kirkland contended that would be a matter for trial.
Shawn Brant's mother, Deanna, a retired school teacher who lives on the Mohawk territory, agreed to put up $50,000 bail. She also agreed to call the police if Brant indicated he was going to stage a protest. Those conditions did not satisfy the Crown.
In refusing bail, Kirkland said he had gained a great deal of experience with the people of the Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory during his 30 years on the bench. He said he believed civil disobedience was important and that the world needed the Shawn Brants.
Kirkland said he had known Brant since he was a teenager and believes he is a reasonable man. But he noted that the courts have to be respected, and said Brant didn't do that when he broke his conditions for release after he was charged the last time. He also said because Brant is a man of his word, that makes him a dangerous man to release right now.
"Because he said there would be more to follow and he always follows through on what he says," said Kirkland.
A preliminary hearing has been set for Aug. 27.
Brant has served jail time before, for trashing the offices of politicians. He is also facing a second lawsuit by CN Rail stemming from his group's most recent blockade of the rail line, Rosenthal said.
The Napanee Guide, with files from The Canadian Press
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July 2007 Reports
Last updated on July 11, 2007