By Rebel News | Created at 2024-10-29 22:30:31 | Updated at 2024-10-30 05:36:12
11 hours ago
Unrepentant Extinction Rebellion protesters sentenced to community service
Judge Ronald Lamperson ruled that because the pair — Howard Gerald Breen, 70, and Melanie Joy Murray, 48 — were part of an activist group, 'The need for a sentence to achieve denunciation and general deterrence is heightened.' Both felt they 'did not do enough' in protest of climate change.
A pair of Extinction Rebellion protesters in British Columbia have been sentenced to probation and community service after they were charged in relation to multiple protests in Nanaimo during late 2021 and early 2022.
Judge Ronald Lamperson ruled that because the pair — Howard Gerald Breen, 70, and Melanie Joy Murray, 48 — were part of an activist group, “The need for a sentence to achieve denunciation and general deterrence is heightened.”
Both were given sentences of probation and community service.
The 70-year-old Breen was facing six mischief charges along with a pair of charges for breaching an undertaking. He will serve a nine-month conditional sentence, followed by 18 months' probation, with 12 days' time served credited for the breaches, reports Nanaimo News Now.
He was also banned from the Nanaimo Airport and Nanaimo Port Authority for the duration of his sentence, which also includes 24/7 house arrest for the first six months, though exceptions are permitted for grocery shopping, medical appointments or other approved outings.
Breen, the co-founder of the Vancouver Island chapter of Extinction Rebellion, was also given 18 months to pay a $1,000 fine for walking onto the tarmac of the Nanaimo Airport while carrying an Extinction Rebellion flag and spray painting the tarmac.
Murray, meanwhile, was given 12 months' probation and 50 hours of community service.
The protesters earlier attempted to argue a “defence of necessity,” claiming the so-called climate emergency justified their actions.
“If I have any sadness or regrets, it is that I did not act up enough on the streets, my family could not sacrifice enough, and I did not do enough to prove risk imminence and urgent necessity enough — to persuade you to help us save our children, grandchildren and greater community,” said Breen following the verdict.
“Your Honour, if there is any sadness or regret we feel today, it is not because we acted, but because we did not act boldly enough,” Murray told the court.
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