Police called to MLA office as convoy-related aggression ramps up

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This article was published 30/01/2022 (963 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Misinformation that stokes anger and politicians who rile people up over public health restrictions can be a volatile mix, says a Winnipeg MLA whose office was recently targeted.

Police were called Friday, after an angry, maskless man yelling obscenities about COVID-19 vaccination requirements barged into the St. James constituency office of NDP MLA Adrien Sala.

Video shows the man approaching Sala’s constituency assistant, who was alone in the office at the time. She can be seen holding up her hand in a defensive gesture as the man moves closer to her. The man said he was angry over vaccines and he’d be back to “serve” her.

She was able to de-escalate the situation. The man left, promising to return.

The woman locked the door and called police and Sala, who went to his office right away. The man was waiting in his pickup truck with “freedom convoy” sign in the rear window.

“I expected to have maybe a tense but respectful conversation with him, but it became clear pretty quickly he was not interested in having a respectful conversation,” Sala said in an interview Monday.

Video shot from inside Sala’s office shows the man getting in the face of Sala, who was wearing a mask. The MLA can be seen holding up his hand to keep the man from getting too close.

 

We had a visit from a supporter of the so-called Freedom Convoy this afternoon who was threatening to myself and staff.

The language and behaviour on display was wrong on every level.

Our team is shaken but ok, grateful to onlookers and the WPS for helping to deescalate. pic.twitter.com/psJ1YXOQN2

— Adrien Sala (@AdrienLouisSala) January 29, 2022

 

“He continued to be physically intimidating and threatening towards me outside,” said Sala, who was reassured by the presence of onlookers, including one who approached asking if there was a problem.

As soon as police sirens could be heard, the man seemed to calm down and took a step back, Sala said.

The police asked Sala to go inside his office and spoke to the man for about five minutes, the MLA said. The man then left, and so did police.

“The situation just highlights the dangers of the misinformation that’s being spread about the safety of vaccines — but it’s also speaking to the risks that are being created by a lot of our political leaders who are supporting the convoy and emboldening people to take these types of aggressive actions,” Sala said.

“There’s a pretty clear through line, I think, between what happened here and what’s been happening in Ottawa,” he said, referring to the actions of so-called “freedom convoy” protesters that forced businesses to close and some elected politicians to denounce the symbols of hatred on display.

Sala is not alone in dealing with such issues on a personal level. Manitoba Liberal Leader Dougald Lamont said he was threatened over the weekend.

“People who wave swastikas and Confederate flags and threaten violence are not freedom fighters: they are attacking the very core of our democracy,” said Lamont.

“I had messages saying, because I am a Liberal, they are coming for me,” Lamont told reporters in a scrum Monday. He blames misinformation and those who are exploiting it for political gain.

“Part of the reason for the reaction is they’ve been lied to by radicals and self-styled experts who set out to manipulate people who are fearful, and have been lied to about vaccines and who is responsible for all these measures,” the St. Boniface MLA said.

Some are trying to shift the anger and blame for public health measures that have been imposed by Tory premiers Heather Stefanson in Manitoba and Doug Ford in Ontario, and counterparts in Alberta and Saskatchewan, onto the federal government. However, it’s front-line constituency assistants, health-care workers and others upholding the provinces’ rules who end up being the targets of the angry and misled, Lamont said.

“It is irresponsible, but given the nature of the threats we’re seeing, it is also cowardly and dangerous,” he said.

NDP house leader Nahanni Fontaine said discussions are under way to improve security for MLA offices and expects there will be an announcement soon.

“Since the start of the pandemic and, certainly in the last year, we’ve seen an increase in really volatile behaviours in a variety of forms — in emails, messages and even in public,” St. Johns MLA said. “That’s (a) daily occurrence.”

Meantime, Winnipeg city council issued a public statement on behalf of all councillors Monday condemning the symbols of racism and hate on public display in Winnipeg, Ottawa and other Canadian cities over the weekend.

“Members… are united in condemning such images being displayed in our community. We urge all Winnipeggers to keep working to build a safe and inclusive community that protects and promotes human rights,” the statement said.

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca