Kelowna COVID protest leader gets four months house arrest for assault

UPDATE: 5:35 p.m.

David Lindsay will stay out of a jail cell after he was convicted of assaulting two security guards during a protest outside the downtown Kelowna Interior Heath building in August 2021. But he'll be under 24-hour house arrest for the next four months.

Lindsay, the long-time leader of the COVID-19 protests that were held regularly in downtown Kelowna throughout the pandemic, was convicted last December of assaulting the two guards during an Aug. 19, 2021 protest.

He had been temporarily banned from the IH building on Doyle Avenue the week prior during another protest, but Lindsay wanted to enter the building and confront IH administration about the mask mandate that was in place at the time.

When security guards blocked the door, and both them and police told Lindsay he'd be arrested if he tried to force his way in, Lindsay put his head down and walked into two of the guards before police led him away.

“What a privilege we have to live in a country where we have the reasonable freedom to say publicly that we disagree with an action of our government,” Judge Cathaline Heinrichs said during sentencing Friday afternoon.

“However we do not have the freedom to commit an assault while doing so; that is what Mr. Lindsay did.”

Lindsay, who was self-represented throughout the trial, had sought an absolute or conditional discharge, while Crown prosecutor David Grabavac sought a nine to 12 month sentence. Ultimately, Judge Heinrichs handed down a four-month house arrest order, followed by two years of probation.

Lindsay will only be allowed to leave his home to attend healthcare appointments or to attend court, and he'll be monitored by an electronic bracelet. While he asked for an exception to leave his home for groceries and exercise, Judge Heinrichs declined, noting that he can get groceries delivered to his home or have a friend pick them up, and he can exercise in his own home.

Lindsay 'lacks insight'

Lindsay spent the majority of his sentencing submissions in June trying to justify his actions by saying he had a right to enter the building, and minimizing the assaults' impacts on the two guards. He called one of the guards a "liar," a "violent man" and a "control freak."

He said the charges against him were a political prosecution due to his long-standing opposition to the government.

“I can understand why Mr. Lindsay might think this is not serious; the force he applied was not a punch, a kick, a slap. He did not choke, push with his arms, gouge, scratch or spit. The assaults did not result in cuts, bruises, broken bones or the like,” Judge Heinrichs said. “However thinking that his assault was not serious tells me that Mr. Lindsay lacks insight into the offence.”

She noted the assaults occurred in the context of a protest which he was the leader of, and that he appears to have significant influence over his “followers.”

“In such a leadership role, Mr. Lindsay has an additional moral responsibility to ensure that he complies with the law and that he doesn't incite violence,” Judge Heinrichs said.

Risk of escalation

She said that while Lindsay's actions didn't cause others to follow suit, the risk of that was present.

“Mr. Lindsay defied the authority of the security and the police officers and committed these assaults in an atmosphere with the potential for escalation,” Judge Heinrichs said.

“The signs carried by some of the protesters had messages of violence. Mr. Lindsay would not have been able to control every person who attended the protest to ensure that they did act with violence after he himself did so.”

She also noted the security guards were frontline workers in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“An attack on our protectors is an attack on the community as a whole,” Judge Heinrichs said, quoting a previous B.C. court ruling.

She added that security guards “bore the brunt of social anger” throughout the pandemic, enforcing rules they had no part in creating. The two guards Lindsay assaulted told the court they've experienced anxiety since the incident and faced threats from Lindsay's supporters.

Lindsay appears 'two-faced'

In addition to the assault convictions, Judge Heinrichs upheld Lindsay's contempt of court conviction, despite Lindsay's attempt to “purge” his contempt through an apology letter. The contempt occurred back in June 2023 Lindsay refused to provide written closing submissions by her deadline.

In June 2024, Crown prosecutor Grabavac showed a video in court of Lindsay on an online talk show criticizing Judge Heinrichs, saying she “did not know what she was doing at all” and was “controlled” by the Crown and witnesses.

“It is difficult to reconcile Mr. Lindsay's unconditional letter of apology and the statement that he understands 'full well the importance of respect to the judge' with comments on a public broadcast that the court was inept and not exercising its judicial independence,” Judge Heinrichs said. “It makes Mr. Lindsay appear two-faced.”

While Judge Heinrichs initially handed down an additional month of house arrest for the contempt conviction, Grabavac contended that a recent court decision has ruled that multiple conditional sentence orders cannot be be handed down consecutively.

“Make them concurrent, remove an appeal ground,” Grabavac suggested, making the total sentence four months of house arrest.

An appeal of the assault and contempt convictions is already underway, with Lindsay filing the appeal in BC Supreme Court back in January. Lindsay said he will be applying to delay his house arrest sentence pending his appeal.

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ORIGINAL: 3:40 p.m.

The leader of Kelowna’s COVID-19 protest movement avoided jail time for two assault convictions stemming from an August 2021 protest, but he’ll spend the next four months under house arrest.

David Lindsay, now 60 years old, was convicted back in December of two counts of assault after a trial last year, and he was sentenced Friday afternoon.

The assaults occurred back on Dec. 19, 2021, during a protest outside the Interior Health building on Kelowna’s Doyle Avenue that involved about 20 of his followers.

Lindsay had been temporarily banned from the building after another protest the week prior, but Lindsay demanded he be allowed to enter so he could confront IH administration about the mask mandate that was in place at the time.

When security guards blocked the door, Lindsay chose to walk into two of the guards, which constituted the assaults.

While the Crown was seeking a 9-12 month jail sentence, Justice Cathaline Heinrichs ruled Friday that four months of house arrest would be appropriate for the assault convictions.

The house arrest ensures Lindsay will be contained in his home 24 hours per day, seven days a week for the four-month period, save for exceptions to attend healthcare appointments or court.

A two-year probation order will follow the house arrest.

Additionally, Judge Heinrichs imposed a month of house arrest for a contempt of court conviction that will be served concurrently. Lindsay picked up that conviction for refusing court orders during his trial last year.

More to come...