Topic: Alleged Anarchist Attack on Bank: Arson or terrorism?

[old medic]

I emailed them and pointed out that fact.  I doubt they'll change it.
 

[milnews.ca]

- edited to include latest in court process -

I emailed them and pointed out that fact.  I doubt they'll change it.

Or even get back to you.

Meanwhile, "Firebomb suspects seek bail before G20":

Two of the three men charged in connection with the firebombing of a Glebe Bank want bail hearings by the end of the week, soon enough that they could be released before the start of this weekend’s G20 summit in Toronto.  Clad in orange jail-issue coveralls, Roger Clement, Claude Frederic Haridge and Matthew Morgan-Brown made a brief appearance by video in an Ottawa courtroom Monday. All three were arrested Friday in connection with the May 18 firebombing of a Bank Street Royal Bank branch that caused more than $500,000 in damage. An anarchist group, Fighting for Freedom Coalition-Ottawa, later took responsibility for the bombing, which was recorded in a “catch me if you can” video posted online. The group also warned that its members would be “present” at the G20 summit ....

[mellian]

Couple of articles I found which may or may be interesting...

http://uofowatch.blogspot.com/2010/06/ottawa-rbc-firebombing-terrorism-seeded.html

Ottawa RBC firebombing – Terrorism seeded by the University of Ottawa?

by Denis G. Rancourt
Former physics professor, University of Ottawa


http://toronto.mediacoop.ca/blog/jesse-freeston/3735

Sacco and Vanzetti in Ottawa: How Media and Police are Politicizing the RBC Arson Case

BLOG POST  posted on June 23, 2010  by Jesse Freeston 

[recceguy]

Ottawa Police fan the flames

The Ottawa Police have added to the show-trial appearance of the case. The original statement from the Ottawa Police, during a Saturday morning press conference, was that .50 caliber "sniper-style" ammunition was recovered during a raid of Haridge's home. The police sent out a release later in the day to say that the ammunition was actually 7.62mm. Both kinds of bullets are legal, but 7.62mm ammo is not used in sniper rifles.

I was mildly amused by both articles, until I read the statement quoted above. A simple 'Google' check would have saved the author's credibility...........maybe not. At any rate, both articles are of no real interest or carry any weight in the real world. Plain old anti establishment rhetoric, and not very good at that. Jerry Rubin would laugh his *** off at the amateurism of this bunch, if he was still alive.

[milnews.ca]

This from the Ottawa Citizen:

Roger Clément, one of the men accused of firebombing a bank in the Glebe last May, has been denied bail by an Ottawa judge.

Clement was arrested on June 18 along with Claude Haridge and Matthew Morgan-Brown in connection with the May 18 firebombing of a Bank Street Royal Bank branch that caused more than $500,000 in damage. An anarchist group, Fighting for Freedom Coalition-Ottawa, later claimed responsibility for the bombing, which was recorded in a "catch me if you can" video posted online

Clement was charged with arson causing damage, possession of incendiary material, use of explosives with intent to cause property damage and mischief. Morgan-Brown is facing the same charges as Clement, while Haridge was charged with mischief and careless storage of ammunition.

Haridge was released on $100,000 bail Friday with conditions that includes an order not to communicate with any protest groups related to the G8 or G20 or aboriginal issues.

Haridge was also ordered to report to police daily, not go within 10 metres of any Ottawa RBC branch and not possess any weapons or ammunition.

He was also ordered not to communicate with his co-accused or anyone else with a criminal record, and to surrender his passport.

(....)

Morgan-Brown was to appear in court by video link on Monday to set a date for his own bail hearing.

Caption for attached:

Charged in the firebombing of the Royal Bank on Bank Streetin he Glebe, May 18, are, from left, Claude Haridge, Matthew Morgan Brown and Roger Clement. The three acused appeared in an Ottawa courtroom June 19, 2010.
Photograph by: Ronn Sutton, The Ottawa Citizen

[George Wallace]

Reproduced under the Fair Dealings provisions of the Copyright Act.
2nd RBC bombing suspect granted bail

06/08/2010 5:38:58 PM
CBC News

LINK

A justice of the peace has ordered the release of one of three men charged in connection with the firebombing of a Royal Bank branch in Ottawa in May.


Matthew Morgan-Brown, 32, has been in custody since he was arrested on June 18.

Both Morgan-Brown and 58-year-old Roger Clement were charged with arson causing damage, possession of incendiary material and using explosives with intent to cause property damage and mischief.

A third man, Claude Haridge, 50, faces lesser charges of careless storage and handling of ammunition. He was granted bail last month.

Clement and Haridge have also been charged with mischief in connection with an incident of alleged vandalism at the same bank last February.

Clement was denied bail in June.

Justice of the peace Richard Sculthorpe ordered Morgan-Brown's release Friday after Morgan-Brown posted a $5,000 bond. As conditions of his release, he was ordered to not attend any organized protests, to stay away from RBC branches and not to communicate with the other two men accused in the incident.

Morgan-Brown is not yet free, however, as he must still serve a few more days of a 20-day sentence in Quebec for taking part in a blockade near Maniwaki.

Morgan-Brown's lawyer Ian Carter said the justice of the peace's decision to release his client reflected the weakness of the Crown's case.

"He is looking forward to getting out and preparing to fight the allegations in court," Carter said.

The firebombing attracted national attention after a video of the incident appeared on an independent media website the following day.

A message accompanying the video, signed by a group calling itself FFFC-Ottawa, claimed RBC was targeted for its sponsorship of the 2010 Olympics.

Morgan-Brown is scheduled to make another court appearance on Sept. 27

[George Wallace]

Reproduced under the Fair Dealings provisions of the Copyright Act.

Third of three firebombing suspects granted bail

Longtime protester must still serve sentence from Maniwaki blockade


By Andrew Seymour, The Ottawa Citizen August 7, 2010

LINK

The third of three men arrested in connection with the firebombing of a Glebe bank has been granted bail.

Matthew Morgan-Brown, 32, let out a loud sigh of relief as Justice of the Peace Richard Sculthorpe ordered him released on a $5,000 bond and several strict conditions. Morgan-Brown will have to wait a few days before leaving jail, however, as he is still serving a 20-day jail sentence in Quebec he received on July 29 for his participation in a blockade near Maniwaki.

Morgan-Brown, a longtime protester for various causes, has been in custody since his arrest with two other men in June for his alleged involvement in the firebombing that caused more than half a million dollars in damage to a Bank Street Royal Bank branch on May 18.

A video of the bombing was posted online shortly after the arson, claiming it had to do with the bank's involvement in the Vancouver Olympics.

Morgan-Brown is charged with arson causing damage, possession of incendiary material, using explosives with intent to cause property damage and mischief.

Retired civil servant Roger Clement, 58, is facing similar charges, while Claude Frederic Haridge, 50, is facing charges related to the careless storage of ammunition. Clement and Haridge are also charged in relation to the vandalism of another Ottawa Royal Bank branch in February.

Clement remains in custody, although his lawyer has said he intends to ask for a review of that detention.

Conditions of Morgan-Brown's release include not to participate in protests, go within seven metres of a Royal Bank branch unless he is driving past in a vehicle, communicate with his two co-accused or possess any weapons or explosives.

The evidence presented during the bail hearing, as well as Sculthorpe's reasons for releasing him, are covered by a publication ban. Such bans are routinely applied to bail proceedings because the Crown gets to present evidence with little reply from the defence.

Morgan-Brown will next appear in court Sept. 27.

aseymour@thecitizen.canwest.com

© Copyright (c) The Ottawa Citizen


Read more on Roger Clement in the Ottawa Citizen.

Read more on Matthew Morgan-Brown in the Ottawa Citizen.

[Good2Golf]

I would fully support the Royal Bank suing these individuals to recover a portion of the damages that they caused. 

[Journeyman]

I would fully support the Royal Bank suing these individuals to recover a portion of the damages that they caused. 

Which of course implies a degree of responsibility for one's behaviour. Interesting concept.

[George Wallace]

Interesting development in the RBC Bank Firebombing in Ottawa:

Reproduced under the Fair Dealings provisions of the Copyright Act.
RBC firebomber pleads guilty



09/11/2010 11:58:29 AM
CBC News

LINK

An Ottawa man has pleaded guilty to firebombing a Royal Bank of Canada branch in Ottawa's Glebe neighbourhood last spring.

Roger Clement, 58, entered the plea Tuesday morning.

Surveillance video from the bank showed a man pouring a liquid, thought to be gasoline, into the lobby of the building. Clement admitted to being that man.

Charges against Matthew Morgan-Brown, 32, were stayed.

A prosecutor said there was too little evidence to try him.

A third man, Claude Haridge, 50, was facing lesser charges of careless storage and handling of ammunition. Those charges were stayed, as well.

The details of Clement's role in the May 18 arson weren't revealed Tuesday. That's expected to happen during sentencing, which begins Dec. 6.

A statement posted online the day of the firebombing said the act was a protest against Royal Bank's financing of the Alberta oilsands and its sponsorship of the Vancouver Olympics, which exacerbated the "criminalization and displacement of those living in extreme poverty" in Canada's third-largest city

[milnews.ca]

Next step: Sentencing....

An Ottawa judge will decide this morning how long an Ottawa fire-bomber should stay in prison.

Roger Clement's lawyer says he should only serve three years for the May 18 attack on an Ottawa RBC branch.

Lawrence Greenspon says Clement's involvement in the attack was motivated by honest beliefs but he's not likely to reoffend.

But the Crown says his actions set an example for others to follow and a stiffer sentence is needed to send a message.

The Crown is asking for a six-year term ....

[Larry Strong]

He got 3 years.

http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/TopStories/20101207/bank-fire-bomber-sentence-101207/

[George Wallace]

I wonder?

This needs to be posted in it's entirety here, in addition to the Sandbox thread were comments are not encouraged,.....this deserves comment.

Terrorism rulings an early Christmas present from our justice system
CHRISTIE BLATCHFORD Saturday's Globe and Mail Friday, Dec. 17, 2010
 Article Link

As someone smarter than me remarked upon reading the slew of newly released terrorism judgments from the Ontario Court of Appeal, this young country just did a whole lot of growing up.

..............

Will the same judgement be made here as well.  Although, not 'religiously' motivated, it was still an actual act of 'domestic terrorism'.  Should this sentence not also be revisited?

[milnews.ca]

Reviving necrothread with results of second trial.....

An antiwar activist who buried thousands of rounds of ammunition in a wooded area outside Ottawa has been placed on 12 months probation and banned from possessing weapons for five years. 

Claude Haridge was under police surveillance on May 27, 2010, when he drove a pickup truck to a forest off in Tay Valley Township and disappeared into the rows of red pine trees for about 50 minutes. 

After he emerged, police with a sniffer dog entered the forest and located three areas about 30 metres from the road where the pine needles were spread thin and the ground appeared to be recently disturbed. 

The next day, Ontario Provincial Police identification officers dug up a metal box and three wooden crates containing more than 1,600 rounds of 7.62-millimetre ammunition manufactured for automatic and semi-automatic military rifles. 

A green garbage bag containing 15 cans of black rifle powder was also discovered. 

Haridge, 51, had been watched by police for more than a week following the firebombing of a Royal Bank branch in Ottawa. An anarchist group opposed to the bank's sponsorship of the Olympic Games and the homelessness allegedly caused in Vancouver later claimed responsibility for the attack. 

Haridge, who spent eight days in jail, was never charged in connection with the bank fire. Another man, Roger Clement, was sentenced to four years in prison ....

Postmedia News, 24 Oct 11

[ModlrMike]

I'm sure probation is going to cure him of his activist sympathies.

[milnews.ca]

I'm sure probation is going to cure him of his activist sympathies.

Still, curbing some of the activities would be a good start.

[jollyjacktar]

I do like the irony of an anti-war activist playing with ammunition and black powder.

[FlyingDutchman]

I do like the irony of an anti-war activist playing with ammunition and black powder.

He's a guy, he likes things that go "boom."