A failed politician who, according to an Ontario court, was broadcasting hate speech online, and was supposed to begin serving an 18-month jail sentence for contempt, was arrested Tuesday morning trying to cross. the border into Montana from Saskatchewan.
Kevin Johnston, whose contempt sentence stemmed from his refusal to comply with a judge’s order to stop defaming a Mississauga restaurateur and pay him damages, is now being held in Plentywood, Mont.
He was arrested by U.S. Border Patrol agents while trying to cross the border on foot, Calgary police confirmed Tuesday.
Johnston, who had run for mayor in Calgary last year and Mississauga in 2014 and 2018, was sentenced on October 4 and was supposed to appear to begin his sentence in Ontario on Tuesday, after finishing another for civil contempt in Alberta. .
In 2019, he was ordered to stop making defamatory statements about Mohamad Fakih and ordered to pay $ 2.5 million in damages. He had not paid at the time of his sentencing in October and had continued to smear Fakih.
In the 2019 summary judgment, Ontario Superior Court Judge Jane E. Ferguson called Johnston’s behavior “a disgusting example of hate speech at its worst, targeting people solely because of their religion.”
In videos published between 2017 and 2019, Johnston accused Fakih’s restaurant chain, Paramount Fine Foods, of being a “front” and said that anyone entering them must be a “jihadist.” The videos were also posted with an altered photograph of Fakih showing him with blood on his hands and face.
Johnston had just served 40 days in prison on weekends for violating court orders in another court case involving defamatory statements against Alberta Health Services.
Calgary police said authorities are working to get Johnston back to Canada.
With files from The Canadian Press, Gilbert Ngabo and Alexandra Heck
Reference-www.thestar.com