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Kamloops  

Prosecutors want jail for four Tiny House Warriors who led assault on Blue River worksite

Tiny House Warriors to jail?

Prosecutors want members of a disruptive anti-pipeline protest group jailed for a 2021 assault on a Trans-Mountain work camp in the North Thompson.

“The accused before this court are not protesters — they are criminals. But they hide behind the mantle of protest in an attempt to legitimize their illicit acts.” Crown prosecutor Anthony Varesi said in court on Monday.

Four members of the Tiny House Warriors are being sentenced following convictions stemming from a series of events at a Trans-Mountain work camp in Blue River on Sept. 15, 2021.

Nicole Manuel, Isha Jules, Tricia Charlie and Sami Nasir were convicted last year on charges of mischief over $5,000, mischief under $5,000, causing a disturbance and loitering in a public place. Manuel, Charlie and Nasir were convicted of additional charges of resisting or obstructing a peace officer, while Jules and Nasir were convicted on counts of assault causing bodily harm and simple assault. Nasir was convicted of one additional charge of assault with a weapon.

The group threw rocks at security and work crews while blocking access to the Trans-Mountain site. Court heard the damage cost more than $79,000 to repair — including about $65,000 in damage to a solar energy system.

Manuel and Jules were described in court as the aggressors.

More than a year in jail?

Varesi described a scary scene for Trans-Mountain workers during the assault.

“The employees were really on their own for some three hours and 20 minutes, and the RCMP arrival was protracted,” he said.

"Trans-Mountain personnel had to endure constant profanity and yelling, incursions on to the property and a breach of the injunction, multiple people at different entry points to the camp, damage to the property on the roadway and damage to the property inside the camp.”

He wants each of the four sent to jail — Manuel for 374 days, Jules for 360 days, Nasir for 8.5 months and Charlie for six months.

“The Tiny House Warriors, and in particular Nicole Manuel, have a long history in the courts in this province,” Varesi said.

“Generally, there’s never any remorse or acceptance of responsibility on their part — no matter what they do, it’s always someone else’s fault, and we saw that in the conduct of this trial.”

'They're not hiding anything'

Defence lawyer Joe Killoran, representing Manuel, took issue with Varesi’s characterization of the group as criminals hiding behind protest.

“They absolutely are protesters — whether one likes what they are protesting or not, they’re protesters,” he said.

“This court has found, and we respect the decision, that their protesting activity was criminal, but it’s all inspired by protest. … Protest is behind all of the activity that they do and they’re not hiding anything.”

Killoran said the protesters’ motivations are genuine.

“They are not doing this for fun, they are not doing this for malice, they are not doing this for gain,” he said.

“They are doing this because they have a genuine desire to effect change, to protect their land and to protect future generations.”

The sentencing hearing, in front of Kamloops provincial court Judge Lorianna Bennett, is expected to continue on Tuesday.



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