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Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau is escorted by his RCMP security detail as protesters shout and through gravel while leaving a campaign stop at a local micro brewery during the Canadian federal election campaign in London Ont., on Monday, Sept. 6, 2021.
Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press
Police in London, Ont., have laid a criminal charge against a man they allege threw gravel at Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau during a local campaign stop.
City police say 25-year-old Shane Marshall of St. Thomas, Ont., is now facing one count of assault with a weapon following the widely documented, Labour Day incident.
Earlier this week, the People’s Party of Canada said it removed a man named Shane Marshall from the post of Elgin-Middlesex-London riding association president, but did not immediately respond to request for comment on whether he and the man now facing charges are one and the same.
Justin Trudeau says he won’t alter campaign plans after gravel thrown at Ontario protest
Police allege the suspect threw gravel at Trudeau as he boarded his campaign bus at around 6 p.m. following a campaign stop marred by vocal protests against the COVID-19 health measures enacted by the Liberal government.
Trudeau was not hurt, but other federal party leaders condemned the stone-throwing and have made previous statements against the actions of foul-mouthed protesters who have followed the Liberal leader throughout the campaign.
Trudeau has referred to the crowds following him as “anti-vaxxer mobs” and has spent the past four weeks of the race to the Sept. 20 vote campaigning on a pledge to mandate shots for federal workers and passengers looking to board a plane, train or cruise ship amid the pandemic’s fourth wave.
The Liberals declined to comment on the arrest Saturday.
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