Ottawa Police Charge MPP Randy Hillier With So Many Offences After Freedom Convoy Protest
Hillier racked up nine charges.
Ottawa Police have laid Ontario MPP Randy Hillier with several charges following the Freedom Convoy protests.
Hillier has not been shy about his views towards COVID-19 restrictions and has previously faced charges related to a mask burning event, promoted large Christmas gatherings during COVID-19 and publicly expressed his anti-lockdown views.
The independent MPP for Lanark-Frontenac-Kingston has held his position since 2018, and according to an Ottawa Police press release, the 64-year-old is facing nine charges related to "ongoing illegal protests."
Police say they received "multiple complaints about social media posts and other activities" about an individual which the police task force looked into.
"An investigation was commenced and information gathered by a police task force initiated to investigate criminal behaviour during the protest," Ottawa Police added.
According to CTV News Toronto, Hillier's Twitter account was suspended in early Mach 2022 for violating the app's COVID-19 misinformation policy.
The task force has charged Hillier with "Mischief/Obstruct Property Exceeding $5000, [two counts of ]Counsel An Uncommitted Indictable Offence (Mischief), Mischief/Obstruct Property Exceeding $5000, Obstruct/Resist Person Aiding Public/Peace Officer, [two counts of] Obstruct/Resist A Public Officer, Assault Peace Or Public Officer, [and] Counsel An Uncommitted Indictable."
The Freedom Convoy protest occupied Ottawa for weeks and cost the city around $36.3 million in police response, repairs and more. Although protests also took place across Canada and on the country's borders.
Hillier is expected to appear in court on Monday, according to police.
Narcity reached out to Hillier for comment, but he did not respond in time for publication.