https://newstalk955.com/the-backstory-of-the-canadian-man-arrested-on-northern-border-in-montana/
The Backstory of the Canadian Man Arrested on Northern Border in Montana
Crossing the Southern border in January is one thing. Crossing the Northern border in January is a different story altogether. I checked the records from the National Weather Service office in Northeast Montana, and the low temperature Tuesday morning in Plentywood, Montana was 2 degrees above zero. And that was without the wind chill.
Tuesday morning is when US Border Patrol agents near Plentywood, Montana arrested Kevin Johnston, a Canadian man who had crossed the border on foot.
He was lost. He sounded disoriented and confused. That's how his friends describe the phone calls they received from Johnston, who they say was trying to get to the US border and seek political asylum.
Several news outlets in Canada had reported the news on Tuesday afternoon that a Canadian man was arrested by US Border Patrol after crossing the Northern border on foot into Montana.
Wednesday morning I had been reporting the story, along with any new information throughout the morning as I received it. That's when I received phone calls from two friends of Johnston's- April in Kansas City, Missouri and Pastor Artur Pawlowski, the prominent street pastor from Calgary, Canada who has been defying lockdown orders in Canada in order to continue holding church services. (I verified the callers connections through a trusted source)
Here's the full audio with both of the calls:
Montana Talks with Aaron Flint
Canadian Detained by Border Patrol in Plentywood, Denied Asylum and Promptly Deported Back
Breaking news on Montana Talks, about the Canadian man, who had been critical of mask mandates and lockdown measures, has been arrested and deported by Border Patrol after crossing by foot near Plentywood. Friend April LeJeune and Pastor Artur Pawlowski spoke with Aaron about this case.
Read More: The Backstory of the Canadian Man Arrested on Northern Border | https://newstalk955.com/the-backstory-of-the-canadian-man-arrested-on-northern-border-in-montana/?utm_source=tsmclip&utm_medium=referral
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Crossing the Southern border in January is one thing. Crossing the Northern border in January is a different story altogether. I checked the records from the National Weather Service office in Northeast Montana, and the low temperature Tuesday morning in Plentywood, Montana was 2 degrees above zero. And that was without the wind chill.
Tuesday morning is when US Border Patrol agents near Plentywood, Montana arrested Kevin Johnston, a Canadian man who had crossed the border on foot.
Read More: The Backstory of the Canadian Man Arrested on Northern Border | https://newstalk955.com/the-backstory-of-the-canadian-man-arrested-on-northern-border-in-montana/?utm_source=tsmclip&utm_medium=referral
The Backstory of the Canadian Man Arrested on Northern Border in Montana
Crossing the Southern border in January is one thing. Crossing the Northern border in January is a different story altogether. I checked the records from the National Weather Service office in Northeast Montana, and the low temperature Tuesday morning in Plentywood, Montana was 2 degrees above zero. And that was without the wind chill.
Tuesday morning is when US Border Patrol agents near Plentywood, Montana arrested Kevin Johnston, a Canadian man who had crossed the border on foot.
He was lost. He sounded disoriented and confused. That's how his friends describe the phone calls they received from Johnston, who they say was trying to get to the US border and seek political asylum.
Several news outlets in Canada had reported the news on Tuesday afternoon that a Canadian man was arrested by US Border Patrol after crossing the Northern border on foot into Montana.
Wednesday morning I had been reporting the story, along with any new information throughout the morning as I received it. That's when I received phone calls from two friends of Johnston's- April in Kansas City, Missouri and Pastor Artur Pawlowski, the prominent street pastor from Calgary, Canada who has been defying lockdown orders in Canada in order to continue holding church services. (I verified the callers connections through a trusted source)
Here's the full audio with both of the calls:
Montana Talks with Aaron Flint
Canadian Detained by Border Patrol in Plentywood, Denied Asylum and Promptly Deported Back
Breaking news on Montana Talks, about the Canadian man, who had been critical of mask mandates and lockdown measures, has been arrested and deported by Border Patrol after crossing by foot near Plentywood. Friend April LeJeune and Pastor Artur Pawlowski spoke with Aaron about this case.
Read More: The Backstory of the Canadian Man Arrested on Northern Border | https://newstalk955.com/the-backstory-of-the-canadian-man-arrested-on-northern-border-in-montana/?utm_source=tsmclip&utm_medium=referral
Podcaster who lost hate-defamation suit claims he fled across U.S. border after being ‘marked for death’ in Canada
Johnston had been expected to start serving an 18-month jail sentence for contempt in Ontario, on the heels of finishing a 40-day intermittent sentence in Alberta.
A man whose behaviour was deemed by one judge “a loathsome example of hate speech at its worst,” says he was fleeing Canada before being arrested in America this week because he was “marked for death.”
Kevin J. Johnston has previously been before the courts for broadcasting racist remarks targeting an Ontario restaurateur and, separately, for lashing out at health officials in Alberta over their pandemic restrictions.
On Wednesday, he offered an explanation for his latest actions in a statement written the night before and issued through his lawyer.
“Recently I have been made aware of a Fatwa after I was attacked on Christmas Eve, at which point I went into hiding to remain safe,” his statement read.
“Being marked for death in my own country was the final straw, that is when I knew I had to leave. ... I was hoping for safe haven in the United States, where I could express my views.”
His statement contained links to his websites but no further proof of the threats.
A day earlier, Johnston had been expected to start serving an 18-month jail sentence for contempt in Ontario, on the heels of finishing a 40-day intermittent sentence in Alberta.
Instead, he was arrested after crossing the border into the U.S., having illegally entered Montana from Saskatchewan, according to authorities.
His journey appears to have been problem plagued.
April LaJune, a right-wing YouTuber, said in a video made Tuesday, she had been on her way to help an unnamed person coming to the U.S. with their asylum plea.
“As he was going to enter the United States he got lost, I mean, lost. I’m talking about, like, really lost,” LaJune says in the video. “We couldn’t find him.”
Fearing for his safety in the freezing weather LaJune said, she called border patrol for help.
Johnston was picked up by border patrol agents near the Montana and North Dakota state line, said U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Then, on her YouTube show Wednesday, LaJune confirmed it was Johnston she was helping. She said Johnston didn’t know how to share his location and was ill-prepared to make the trip, leaving without a flashlight or thermal blanket and other supplies.
“You can’t navigate by the stars when it’s cloud covered,” she had said on Tuesday’s video.
Her version of events has not been confirmed by Johnston.
LaJune did not accept a request to talk about the events, instead offering for the Star to come on her show to talk about it, which the Star declined.
The contempt charges against Johnston — who ran for mayor in Calgary, last year, and in Mississauga in 2014 and 2018 — stem from two separate court cases. In one, he was found to have defamed a Mississauga restaurateur with racist online content in what observers described as a landmark ruling against hate speech. Another defamation case involved statements against Alberta Health Services.
He was supposed to finish serving his Alberta sentence for breaching court orders related to the defamation case there then report to Ontario, but did not serve his final weekend in an Alberta jail and a warrant was issued for his arrest, authorities said.
His lawyer, Ian McCuaig, said Johnston was returned to Canadian authorities and is being held by RCMP in Weyburn, Sask.
McCuaig said his client will likely return to Calgary to finish his Alberta sentence before heading to Ontario. He could also face further charges, McCuaig said.
Johnston still has an assault charge before the courts related to an incident in the parking lot of a Dawson Creek grocery store last year. He said he went on the run for his own safety.
“I have had to appear in court over 266 times, and have served five months of prison time for holding conservative political views. I have also experienced frequent physical attacks by members of ANTIFA,” reads the statement.
In 2019, a judge ordered Johnston to stop making defamatory statements about Mohamad Fakih and pay $2.5 million in damages. He had not paid at the time of his October sentencing and had continued to defame Fakih.
In the 2019 summary judgment, Ontario Superior Court Justice Jane E. Ferguson called Johnston’s behaviour “a loathsome example of hate speech at its worst, targeting people solely because of their religion.”
Johnston was sentenced in Ontario Oct. 4 and expected to start serving the sentence Tuesday.