A New Brunswick man has pleaded guilty to threatening to punch Mayor Jim Watson during a “Freedom Convoy” rally in downtown Ottawa last winter.
Jeffrey Monette, 49, of Minto, NB, pleaded guilty Friday to making threats. He received parole and two years probation.
The court learned that Monette was charged after threatening to cause bodily harm to the mayor in a Facebook Live video on Jan. 31.
According to a consensual statement of facts, Monette stated in a Facebook Live video: “Now I have a real hatred for the mayor of Ottawa.” The court later said Monette said after watching the mayor on television that she would like to find out where she lives, “where she could literally slap her throat and take the charge of assault just to make her I feel Canadian. “
The court learned that Monette, who is a firefighter in New Brunswick, regularly featured live broadcasts on Facebook during the protest.
An Ottawa judge ordered Monette not to attend the city of Ottawa or to have any contact with Watson or any Ottawa mayor.
Monette said live on Facebook during the start of the convoy, that he wanted to give Jim Watson a “throat blow” and that he was willing to “take charge of the assault.”
During the same live broadcasts, he also said that the offices of news organizations should be burned #ottnews
– Mackenzie Gray (@Gray_Mackenzie) June 17, 2022
Filed with CTV News producer Mackenzie Gray