(LifeSiteNews) – A Freedom Convoy protester who was convicted of mischief in 2024 and was trying to challenge his charge, noting how his arrest violated his rights, is out of luck after a court upheld his previous conviction.
Scott Hockaday, who participated in the 2022 protests, heard recently that the Ontario Court of Appeals dismissed the challenge to his conviction despite the fact that he had argued his Charter rights had been violated.
According to the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF), the ruling, released last week by Justices Lorne Sossin, David Copeland, and Julie Gomery, dismissed Hockaday’s claim that his Charter rights were violated during his arrest on February 18, 2022, when he was detained for several hours and questioned by police but was denied access to legal counsel for a long period. Police had not witnessed Hockaday commit a criminal offense before his arrest.
According to the JCCF, an officer questioned Hockaday during his detention “about a trailer that he had been using and obtained details about that trailer, including the license plate number.”
“The Crown sought to use these statements and photos of the trailer as evidence against Mr. Hockaday at trial,” the JCCF noted.
Ontario Court Justice Julie Bourgeois did mention during Hockaday’s trial that his right to counsel was indeed infringed upon, but she said his arrest was lawful.
The JCCF said that police had agreed to release Hockaday as long as he did not call a lawyer.
Hockaday appealed his conviction in April, arguing that his “Charter right to be free from arbitrary detention and from unreasonable search and seizure were infringed because the arresting officer did not have reasonable grounds to arrest him.”
“Mr. Hockaday was present in Ottawa in 2022 to protest. The arresting officer did not see Mr. Hockaday do anything other than turn around and present his arms to be handcuffed,” attorney Hatim Kheir said.
“He did not know why Mr. Hockaday did this or whether Mr. Hockaday was instructed to do so by other officers. We are arguing that this does not meet the constitutional requirements for a legal arrest. Mr. Hockaday is hopeful that the Superior Court will remedy the infringements of his Charter rights by excluding illegally obtained evidence and by acquitting him of mischief.”
Many who participated in the Freedom Convoy to demand demand an end to COVID mandates were arrested and charged.
As reported by LifeSiteNews, Freedom Convoy leaders Tamara Lich and Chris Barber have filed appeals of their own against their recent house arrest sentences, arguing that the trial judge did not correctly apply the law on their mischief charges.
Government lawyers for the Crown have filed an appeal of the acquittals of Lich and Barber on intimidation charges.
Lich and Barber were declared guilty of mischief for their roles as leaders of the protest in April 2022 and as social media influencers. The conviction came after a nearly two-year trial despite the non-violent nature of the popular movement.
Former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his Liberal government invoked the Emergencies Act to clear out protesters, an action a federal judge has since said was “not justified.” During the clear-out, an elderly lady was trampled by a police horse and many who donated to the cause had their bank accounts frozen.
