Man released after driving through protesters

Canadian Press
CH TV - Hamilton
Friday, May 19, 2006

[SISIS note: The following mainstream news article is provided for reference only, as an example of how mainstream media treats indigenous resistance to genocide. Mainstream media often presents biased and distorted information, lacking pertinent facts and/or context. Inclusion of this article on our site should not be considered an endorsement by SISIS.]

CALEDONIA, Ont. -- A man accused of endangering aboriginal protesters was released from police custody late Thursday after a car drove through their barricades near Hamilton.

Ron Desroches, 18, from Ingersol, Ont., was arrested by volunteers after the vehicle narrowly missed the protesters grouped behind the barriers in Caledonia.

"He just went right through here and then he started causing trouble and driving around like crazy," protester Brian Skye told Hamilton television station CHCH.

Desroches was handed over to provincial police, who did not indicate if charges were laid, but a pellet gun and camouflage gear were confiscated from a car.

"He treated it as a joke -- he was smirking and after some of the women told him how serious the action was, he got a little more serious," said Skye.

The incident occurred as protesters were discussing the possibility of removing the blockade for the long weekend, said Skye.

"We were having a meeting and discussing whether or not to open the road for the weekend, so with this incident, I'm not sure what's going to happen."

Skye said while he supports efforts to remove the barricades, other protesters are concerned about security as a result of the incident.

After his release from custody, Desroches said he had just moved to Simcoe, Ont., and became lost while trying to drive home.

Desroches claimed he was blindfolded and that his life was threatened when he was initially taken into custody.

"They told me what to say and then they made me say it on camera -- they were saying at times, 'we should just kill him, we should get rid of him.'"

Desroches, who said he is a military reservist, said a charge against him was dropped, but that his car and a cellphone were being held by police for 24 hours.

"I'm somebody who's more than willing to go and defend the rights of this country and mine were just violated," he told CHCH.