OTTAWA – Randy Hillier, an independent member of Ontario’s legislature, surrendered to Ottawa police on Monday to face nine charges related to his involvement in the protest that seized the core of the national capital last month.
The Lanark-Frontenac-Kingston member arrived at police headquarters early in the morning and told reporters he’d been advised by police on Sunday that charges had been laid and he understood they were related to the occupation of downtown Ottawa.
“Differing and dissenting views are now apparently criminal, so that is a disturbing trend,” he said.
A statement from Ontario Provincial Police said nine charges had been laid against the 64-year-old.
They include two counts of obstructing or resisting a public officer, one count of assaulting a peace or public officer and three counts of counselling an uncommitted indictable office, two of which are considered mischief.
The police statement said an investigation began in February after “multiple complaints” were received about an individual’s social media posts and other activities.
Hillier said he has had “thousands of interactions” with people and has no idea what led to the charge of assaulting a peace or public officer.
“I only ever greeted people with love and affection, an embrace and handshakes, so unless handshakes and warm embraces are now considered assault, I have no idea,” he said.
Protesters arrived in Ottawa on the last weekend in January to voice discontent with COVID-19-related public health measures and the federal government in general.
Hillier became a familiar face during the three-week protest, as large trucks and crowds of people blocked streets and filled the core with the blaring sounds of air horns and smell of diesel. He appeared at several press conferences in support of the protesters.
Police moved in on Feb. 18, after the federal government invoked the Emergencies Act, to disperse the crowds and reclaim the roads around Parliament Hill.
Hillier was first elected to provincial office in 2007, but was removed from the Ontario Progressive Conservative caucus in 2019.
He announced earlier this month that he would not seek re-election in June.
Earlier this month, Twitter suspended Hillier’s account over concerns about his posting what the social media platform considered misleading and potentially harmful information about COVID-19.
During the pandemic, Hillier has frequently posted COVID-19 misinformation and conspiracy theories and has been ticketed for allegedly breaking public health rules. He also called federal Transport Minister Omar Alghabra a terrorist and labelled public health measures as “fascism.”
The Ontario legislature first passed a unanimous motion condemning Hillier’s “disreputable conduct” after he posted the names and photos of dead people to suggest without evidence that they had died due to COVID-19 vaccination.
He later apologized, but the legislature again condemned him and authorized the Speaker to not recognize Hillier for what government House leader Paul Calandra called racist and discriminatory statements about Alghabra.
Hillier denied that his posts labelling Alghabra as a terrorist were racist, because he didn’t reference Alghabra’s religion or ethnicity.
