For the first time in Canada, a self-proclaimed “Freeman on the Land” has been charged after a “paper terrorism” incident.
Edmonton police announced Wednesday they have charged 45-year-old Allen Boisjoli of Vegreville with intimidation of a justice system participant.
In May 2015, police said Boisjoli was stopped by a community peace officer in Beaver County and given a speeding ticket.
Gerrard described paper terrorism as a situation where a person floods the court system with false documents in an attempt to have the charge against them dropped.
“They use a plethora of documents, which really mean absolutely nothing – they’re just cutting and pasting from all over the internet from laws all over the world – they put them together into hundreds and hundreds of pages of documents and flood the courts with this just in an effort to overwhelm the courts and confuse people and really have people give up on prosecutions. Or, intimidate the people involved to drop the prosecution completely.”
The Freeman-on-the-Land movement rejects the authority of government institutions, and espouses the rights of “sovereign citizens.”
The investigation, which included several jurisdiction, wrapped up on Aug. 27, 2016 and Boisjoli was arrested and charged.
“He’s been investigated before for this same charge and he was actually charged with intimidation and I believe he served a 13-month sentence for that in 2013,” Gerrard said.
Edmonton police said this is the first time in Canada that law enforcement officials have laid a paper terrorism-related charge against a person claiming to be a Freeman on the Land.
“I think we’ve tolerated the Freeman and the sovereign citizens to a certain extent and now that level of tolerance has come to an end,” Gerrard said.
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‘Paper terrorism’ leads to charges against Alberta Freeman on the Land | Globalnews.ca
Edmonton police announced Wednesday they have charged 45-year-old Allen Boisjoli of Vegreville with intimidation of a justice system participant.
In May 2015, police said Boisjoli was stopped by a community peace officer in Beaver County and given a speeding ticket.
Gerrard described paper terrorism as a situation where a person floods the court system with false documents in an attempt to have the charge against them dropped.
“They use a plethora of documents, which really mean absolutely nothing – they’re just cutting and pasting from all over the internet from laws all over the world – they put them together into hundreds and hundreds of pages of documents and flood the courts with this just in an effort to overwhelm the courts and confuse people and really have people give up on prosecutions. Or, intimidate the people involved to drop the prosecution completely.”
The Freeman-on-the-Land movement rejects the authority of government institutions, and espouses the rights of “sovereign citizens.”
The investigation, which included several jurisdiction, wrapped up on Aug. 27, 2016 and Boisjoli was arrested and charged.
“He’s been investigated before for this same charge and he was actually charged with intimidation and I believe he served a 13-month sentence for that in 2013,” Gerrard said.
Edmonton police said this is the first time in Canada that law enforcement officials have laid a paper terrorism-related charge against a person claiming to be a Freeman on the Land.
“I think we’ve tolerated the Freeman and the sovereign citizens to a certain extent and now that level of tolerance has come to an end,” Gerrard said.
video
‘Paper terrorism’ leads to charges against Alberta Freeman on the Land | Globalnews.ca