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, although there was a lot of shouting and swearing during the event, Trudeau had no direct interaction with the protesters, 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 into a noose.
The person holding it was later identified as Thomas Dyer who was arrested on September 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 policies on climate change,” the statement reads in part. ‘Statement of Facts.
When police checked Dyer’s Facebook, they found a video of the event, which remains publicly posted now.
Protesters showed up at several of Trudeau’s campaign stops last summer, raising concerns for his safety and the Liberal Party of Canada calling off a rally near Bolton.
“Two days prior, the Trudeau campaign took the rare step of canceling a planned rally near Bolton, Ont., because the planned protest was deemed to endanger public safety. Similar rallies had previously taken place in Barrie, Ontario, where it is believed that Mr. Dyer was present,” reads the statement of facts.
This Cambridge event took place a few days later.
A week and a half after the event, Dyer was arrested and charged with two counts of threatening.
He has now pleaded guilty to one count. The other will be removed at sentencing.
The Agreed Statement of Facts says Dyer was threatening Trudeau, at another point saying he’ll “hit Trudeau if he gets off the bus.”
Threats were also made against the police officers, according to the statement of facts.
Dyer is heard on the video justifying his comments.
“I can say whatever I want because it’s my freedom of speech,” Dwyer says in the video.
Defense attorney 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 has no intention of doing it.
“If this was told to anyone else at the grocery store, let alone someone who doesn’t have private security details, the police wouldn’t act any differently – it’s not like whether Prime Minister Trudeau got special treatment here, or this man is getting treated harder because he said nasty things about the prime minister,” Goldkind said.
CTV News Kitchener has contacted Dyer’s attorney who said he will need to consult with his client before doing an interview.
Dyer is scheduled to be sentenced on October 20.