Two UBCSUO executives charged in G20 sweep
70 arrested at U of T over suspected Black Bloc influence
6/29/10
UBCSUO Executive Chair Grayson Lepp was one of 70 detained Sunday on the University of Toronto campus. Photo by Tom Cardoso (The Varsity)
Two student politicians from UBC Okanagan were charged with conspiracy to commit mischief and held for more than 30 hours before being released Monday night after arrests at the University of Toronto during the G20 summit on the weekend.
UBCSUO executive chair Grayson Lepp and services co-ordinator Kirk Chavarie were detained with about 70 others in a gym on the university campus as police investigated Black Bloc protesters blamed for violent clashes.
"I woke up Sunday morning to a police officer standing in front of me," Lepp said. He claimed he was arrested while sleeping in a gym on the U of T campus that was serving as a temporary dorm, and was told in a bail hearing that the evidence against them were CFS campaign materials in his bag.
Although Lepp was able to contact the students' union via legal counsel Monday, Chavarie had been unaccounted for until being released on $1000 bail. "I wasn't even able to contact my mom, so my mom had no idea where I was," Lepp said. It was not known that they were arrested until video and photos were found on the Toronto Star website and Flickr.
The pair had been sent by the UBCSUO executive to “march in solidarity” with other student politicians of the Canadian Federation of Students during G20 demonstrations. "We felt it was very important for people from B.C. to go out and protest that they can spend a billion dollars on security but can't afford to keep students in school in British Columbia," Lepp said. The UBCSUO partly funded the travel expense.
According to Lepp, they had attended the Friday night rally with labour unions and student organizations. He claimed that neither executive had been involved in a violent protest. "I was sitting there thinking, 'What have I done?' I haven't done nothing illegal, and I was being treated like absolute garbage," he said. "Not one of my civil rights was respected."
Lepp and Chavarie were held in the Eastern Ave. temporary detention facility. Lepp described the centre as being rife with verbal sexual harrassment, death threats and racial abuse against Francophones from the police. He claimed he was refused phone calls and requests to speak with counsel or be informed of his charges.
When contacted, a spokesperson for the G8/G20 Integrated Security Unit refused to comment on individuals. The weekend was the site of the largest mass arrests in history, with the police department announcing over 900 arrests.
According to the Canadian Press, Toronto police chief Bill Blair defended the tactics. "When they couldn't attack the summit they attacked the city, and they became a mob," he said. "A mob is policed a little differently than a peaceful protest."
The gym, owned by the U of T Graduate Students’ Union, was raided after discarded black clothing was found outside, according to the CBC, and police say they found stockpiles of “weapons of opportunity,” like bricks.
The two men must return to court in Toronto August 23.
With files from the Kelowna Daily Courier.
1 comment
Alice Hong on Jul 15, 2010 at 8:37pm
Oh my gawd. That's so weird to know. The coffee at the cafeteria was something terrible, but I can't believe they even flew all the way to Toronto for the event. Which is crazy because that's the city I am in right now. How can I say I miss the Phoenix crew when I was never a member? This will have to do, I guess. I only wish for you to have a good summer to people who are incredibly awesome. But you're so awesome, you probably knew that. Because I said so.
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