The notion of a not-guilty verdict being turned into a guilty one may seem upside-down to Americans. But that’s precisely what happened to a Freedom Convoy supporter after successfully representing himself against Canada’s Crown.
On the second day of police actions against the Freedom Convoy truckers and thousands of supporters, David Romlewski was arrested. Law enforcement was reportedly clearing out peaceful protestors along Sparks Street in Ottawa. Romlewski was sitting on the ground and refused to move as tactical teams advanced in what Canadian officials called a “Red Zone.”
“David sat on the ground and did not move. Rather, David spoke to the officers, questioning their legitimacy and that of the Emergencies Act. He demanded their names,” Ontario Court Justice Robert Wadden reportedly summarized at trial. ‘
During the November proceedings, Judge Wadden noted that Romlewski’s participation did not rise to the level of mischief, contrary to the government’s claims. The determination was based on the fact that he was not a trucker and did not offer material support or financial assistance. In essence, the defendant was merely an interested party who peacefully disagreed with Covid-19 mandates that negatively impacted truckers who haul goods and materials across the international border with the U.S.
The trial judge went as far as to indicate that Romlewski acted independently on what he called a “lark.” After representing himself on two counts of mischief and one of obstructing police, he earned acquittals on the mischief charges. The Crown’s obstruction case resulted in a guilty verdict.
Romlewski proceeded to appeal the obstruction verdict with stunning results. Superior Court Justice Adriana Doyle not only sided with the government on the obstruction change, but she also reversed the not-guilty rulings.
“The trial judge improperly focused on the absence of certain acts. David was there in the heat of the removal of the protesters on the second day. Protesters were given many opportunities to leave without being charged,” Justice Doyle reportedly said.
In post-reversal interviews, Romlewski pointed out the dangers of court officials siding with the government over political disagreements and peaceful protests. He noted that he passively sat on the ground, questioning the legitimacy of the controversial police action. Such actions have widely been viewed as legitimate civil disobedience.
“If you can simply be charged with mischief for attempting to understand why the police are acting the way they are, then essentially you could do anything in this case and a police officer would have a very large amount of power to exercise arrests,” Romlewski reportedly said.
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