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Title: Overview: Toronto G20 Legal Fallout Author: CrimethInc. Date: September 3, 2010 Language: en Topics: Canada, g20, law, fallout Source: Retrieved on 9th November 2020 from https://crimethinc.com/2010/09/03/overview-toronto-g20-legal-fallout
What kind of world do the G20 leaders want to create? They showed us a
sneak preview at the G20 summit in Toronto last June: a billion-dollar
security budget, 20,000 security personnel, secret laws, pre-dawn house
raids, indiscriminate attacks with batons, tear gas, and rubber bullets.
Over 1100 people were arrested, most of whom were never charged.
If this is the future, who can blame people for resisting?
Since the G20 protests, we’ve waited breathlessly for a comprehensive
account of the charges and investigations stemming from the summit.
Despairing of finding one, we finally prepared this report. It’s not
all-inclusive; there is a tremendous amount to keep up with, and many
important details are still being forcefully withheld.
We call on everyone who desires a better world to support all those
charged, arrested, and brutalized in Toronto. Government repression need
not spell defeat; it simply marks a new phase of conflict, offering an
opportunity to counterattack in the field of public opinion and
discourage future repression. Our ability to act tomorrow is determined
by what we do today to help our targeted comrades.
This report is dedicated to David Japenga, found guilty August 25 of
breaking windows during protests against the G20 summit in Pittsburgh in
September 2009.
Some 1105 arrests were made in connection to the protests against the
Toronto G20 summit. This is believed to be the largest mass arrest in
Canadian history. The number is still growing as a result of ongoing
police investigations, including the publication of pictures and videos
of wanted vandals on the police website and YouTube channel. On August
26, the police released portraits of “the worst of the worst” of the
vandals, most of whom they allege to be either from Montreal or from the
US. Young men of colour have been disproportionately represented among
those targeted in this way.
On August 23, Toronto police claimed they had been able to find 20
suspects thanks to these methods. They have since claimed to have found
at least two more. If it wasn’t already obvious who is calling the shots
behind the repression, it came out August 30 that the police are working
with a facial recognition specialist from the Canadian Bankers
Association to identify suspects from photos.
Of the 1105 arrests, about 800 resulted in no criminal charges. All
arrestees were detained and processed in a temporary detention facility
located in a former film studio on Eastern Avenue. The length of
detentions in that facility ranged from a few hours to several days, in
increasingly appalling conditions.
Those facing more serious criminal charges, including most of the 17
alleged anarchist “ringleaders” [sic] accused of having orchestrated the
“mayhem” that occurred on June 26, were swiftly transferred to a
provincial court where they were paraded before a Justice of the Peace
and later transferred to Maplehurst Correctional Center, in Milton,
pending their bail hearing.
On August 23, it was confirmed that a total of 304 people had had
criminal charges laid against them, ranging from “Disturbing the Peace”
and “Mischief” to “Weapons Dangerous” and “Conspiracy to Commit an
Indictable Offence.” In Canada an “indictable offence” is equivalent to
a felony in the US.
All 304 accused were summoned to Provincial Court on August 23 to be
further processed. It was said to be the largest mass court appearance
in the city’s history. The following day the Ontario Ministry of the
Attorney General presented this tally:
end of August to mid-October. The Crown failed to produce evidence in
the majority of the cases.
by which they accepted to donate $25 or $50 to a charity in exchange for
exoneration. This is not an admission of guilt, but it does mean giving
up the right to sue the State or police at a later date.
in exchange for exoneration.
errors.
arrests.
Of those whose charges were dropped, a few cases stood out:
manhandled and detained on June 26.
June 27 in the most brutal manner by a squad of plainclothes police. She
is considering legal action.
harassed by cops in detention.
twice with rubber bullets at a solidarity rally in front of the
temporary jail. Cops initially denied having used rubber bullets but
retracted their lie the next day in the face of overwhelming evidence.
Despite photographic proof, the mainstream media continues printing that
she “claims” to have been shot. She is also considering legal action.
Much has been made in the Canadian media of the “bogus law” passed by
the Ontario legislation under the Public Works Protection Act to provide
police with sweeping extraordinary powers in and around the security
perimeter of the summit. Several liberal commentators have complained
that the law was passed in secret; in fact, it was passed discreetly
June 2, and was only discovered by the media on the first day of the
summit, June 25, three days before the temporary measure was scheduled
to be revoked. They have also complained that Toronto Police Chief Bill
Blair lied about its scope until the day after the Summit and that
Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty did nothing to dispel the ambiguity
surrounding the matter.
Blair did publicly state that the extraordinary law permitted cops to
stop and search anyone within five meters of the fence, and to arrest
and detain anyone who resisted or failed to comply. In fact, the
temporary law only applied to the area within the security fence.
When he showed up in court on July 28, Dave Vasey, the only person who
was arrested under this sham, was told that his papers had been “lost”
either by the police or the Crown in what appears to be a clumsy attempt
to make this embarrassing business go away.
The untold story here is that the cops were not only doing illegal
searches and detentions within 5 meters of the perimeter, but throughout
the entire Toronto downtown area. Thousands of incidents occurred in
which people were randomly stopped on the sidewalk, asked for ID, and
threatened with arrest if they did not comply. Illegal searches and
arbitrary seizures were common throughout the week preceding the summit
and continued until several days after it; friends and allies who stayed
behind to support detainees were constantly stopped and aggressively
interrogated.
So while liberals are focusing on the bark on the tree, everybody is
forgetting the jungle behind. Anarchists, at least, are honest about not
believing in the legitimacy of the legal system. It is absolutely
despicable for the authorities to insist on the system’s legitimacy
while disregarding it whenever it is convenient for them, and
pathetically naĂŻve that some liberals still believe in it despite all
the evidence that they are alone in this.
Sherry Good, a Toronto local who was corralled along with approximately
200 other people on June 27 at the corner of Spadina Avenue and Queen
Street, launched a $45 million class action law suit against the police.
She claims to act on behalf of the “800 individuals who were allegedly
wrongfully arrested during the G20 Summit at various locations, and
never charged with any wrongdoing.”
Another lawsuit was announced in Montreal on August 20 by two sisters
arrested on June 27 and detained for 60 hours following a police raid
targeting several dozen Québécois protesters sleeping in a gymnasium at
the University of Toronto. This one is filed against the Montreal Police
Department for being effectively complicit in the horrendous conditions
and “psychological torture” at the Eastern Avenue detention center.
Just as this update was posted, Mike Barber and Miranda McQuade launched
a $115 million class-action lawsuit against the Toronto Police Services
Board, federal Attorney General Rob Nicholson, and the Peel Police
Services Board.
More class-action lawsuits are expected to be filed in the coming
months.
On June 29, Toronto police organized a media conference to showcase all
the weapons supposedly seized from protesters over the Summit weekend.
It was soon revealed that most of their “evidence” was comprised of
random items seized under various circumstances, some not even related
to the protests. This includes arrows and chain mail taken from Brian
Barrett, a medieval revivalist on his way to a joust; a chainsaw and
crossbow taken from Gary McCullough, a woodsman who carried all his
belongings in a makeshift roof-rack on top of his Hyundai; and camping
equipment, some wooden katanas, and a copy of the anticapitalist
publicationUpping the Anti seized from the house of an organizer before
any ruckus even started. These items were displayed next to some
helmets, gas masks, and an assortment of rather lame-looking defensive
gear.
It was quickly admitted that the chainsaw and crossbow were seized from
a man who had nothing to do with the protests.
Of the remaining accused, 17 believed to be “executives” [sic] of the
Southern Ontario Anarchist Resistance (SOAR) are charged with counts of
Conspiracy to Commit Mischief over $5000, Conspiracy to Assault Police,
and Conspiracy to Obstruct the Work of Police. Some of them also face
several more counts of “Counselling” to commit indictable offences
including mischief, assault, and others, as well as counts of mischief
and various other charges. Details are still scarce due to a publication
ban.
All of the 17 have been released on bail and are now under house arrest
on very stringent conditions. These conditions include house arrest at
the residence of their respective sureties; non-association with any of
the co-accused or anyone reasonably known to be a member of SOAR or AW@L
(formerly Anti-War at Laurier); and a “no protest” condition preventing
any of them from “organizing, participating in, or attending any public
demonstration.”
A few more people from southern Ontario believed to be close to
anarchist networks are also charged with “Counseling” and other serious
charges, and are out on similar conditions. This makes the “17” tag
somewhat arbitrary and subject to change.
Here is an incomplete summary:
Maplehurst Correctional Center more than two months after his arrest in
an early morning raid of his apartment on June 26. His bail was denied
on July 6 by a particularly awful and evidently constipated Justice of
the Peace.
for the Toronto Community Mobilization Network, was released on $55,000
bail on July 8. He had been arrested in the early morning of June 26 on
his way to a press conference.
the Anti-Capitalist Convergence (CLAC), were released on respective
bonds of $47,000 and $85,000 on July 12. Cadorette was arrested on June
26 while on his way to the main action. A well-known activist, Singh
turned himself in on July 6, the first day of the collective bail
hearing, after learning of a warrant for his arrest.
released on $75,000 bail on July 14. He had also been arrested in an
early-morning raid on the Toronto apartment where he was staying.
of SOAR, were released on bail on July 19. They were both arrested in
the early morning of June 26 by a police team from the “guns and gangs”
unit who battered down the door of their Toronto apartment, guns drawn.
The Crown has appealed their release. The judge will render a decision
on the Crown’s appeal on September 13.
was released on $140,000 bail on July 27. She had been arrested with
Hundert and Henderson in the same June 26^(th) early morning raid.
bail on June 28. He was charged with Conspiracy as well a few days
before this report.
conspirators but is accused of participating in the widespread
destruction of property that occurred on June 26, was released on
$80,000 bail on August 12. Pflug-Back faces 13 different charges,
including 8 charges of mischief over $5000 and one count of conspiracy.
She turned herself in on July 21, having learned of a warrant for her
arrest.
with conspiracy as part of the SOAR case, in addition to the 17 original
defendants. He was released the following day.
Others among the original 17 have not been publicly named yet. They will
all be back in court on September 27, at which point it is expected that
the evidence will be disclosed and the details of their prosecution will
be negotiated.
The conspiracy case stems from an undercover police operation which
started back in April 2009 to monitor anti-Olympics and “extreme
anarchist” [sic] activity in Southern Ontario.
More details about this investigation will appear soon.
Some people are still in jail on G20-related charges:
mischief over $5000 and for assaulting a police officer; he has been
denied bail.
on several charges including possessing explosives for an unlawful
purpose, possessing dangerous weapons, and mischief. His bail was denied
on July 20.
on June 25 near the security fence after cops were alarmed by the
roof-rack on his car. After they pulled him over, they discovered
McCullough was carrying several hazardous items in this rack including a
chainsaw, a crossbow, and a few gas cans. Cops said his charges were
“not related” to the G20 summit, but this did not prevent Chief Bill
Blair from adding the chainsaw and crossbow to his mendacious display of
seized “weapons.” McCullough’s case is further complicated by his
alleged “mental health issues.” He was denied bail on June 29 on
“secondary grounds”: no doctor has said that he is dangerous or needs to
be committed, but the Crown is alleging that, based his history with the
mental health system, Gary poses a threat to the public. He is still
being detained at Maplehurst.
Testament and Illogik, the duo behind the exciting music video correctly
predicting that people would confront the G20 in Toronto, were arrested
June 27. Both are charged with Conspiracy to Commit an Indictable
Offense, Council to Commit an Indictable Offense, and Disguise with
Intent to Commit an Indictable Offense; bail was set at $20,000 each.
Testament was also charged with breach of bail as a result of being
arrested wheatpasting posters about the G20 in London, Ontario a week
before the summit; the charges from that arrest were dropped immediately
afterwards and the London police chief went on record saying they had
only charged him so he would be out on bail conditions during the G20.
The release conditions for the two include not associating with each
other, not associating with members of “Black Bloc” [sic], not
possessing anything that could be used as a disguise including bandanas
and scarves, and not associating with various people from Quebec they’ve
never even met.
A group of more than 70 people, most of whom are Québécois, who had been
traveling to Toronto with CLAC-organized transportation were arrested in
a morning raid of a University of Toronto gymnasium which had been
offered as an accommodation to CLAC by the student union. This somewhat
soft target consisting primarily of young students was violently
awakened with kicks to the back, blows to the head, and drawn guns.
There were several incidents of beatings, brutal treatment, and theft of
money, all accompanied by anti-Québec slurs and insults. Everyone in
this group has been charged with Conspiracy, as police claim that they
were the “foot soldiers” who made up the rampaging Black Bloc on June
26.
This flimsy assumption is thought to stem from faulty intelligence
gathered through the undercover investigation and police infiltration of
SOAR meetings.
In fact, Québécois were systematically targeted throughout the summit
and over the following days. Cars with Québec license plates were
stopped and searched and the passengers aggressively interrogated. A bus
carrying people back to Québec was stopped and its passengers searched
and temporarily detained on the afternoon of June 27, near the
convergence center. There was an immediate spontaneous show of support
from protesters and local residents, which resulted in more abuse and
arrests.
As of the June 23 hearing, Québécois make up more than a third of the
accused. Most, if not all, of these defendants will be back in court on
October 14.