David Lindsay, organizer of the anti-COVID-19 restriction rallies in Kelowna, walks along Kelowna's waterfront Saturday, Jan. 16.

(CARLI BERRY / iNFOnews.ca)

Kelowna’s perpetual protestor, David Lindsay, was sentenced to four months of house arrest for two counts of assault and contempt of court.

Lindsay, 60, was sentenced today, Aug, 9, for assaulting two security guards at a downtown Kelowna Interior Health building in August 2021. Lindsay lead a group of about 20 anti-mask protestors to try to enter the building but when his way was blocked by the security guards, he made slight contact with them. An RCMP officer who happened to be there at the time witnessed the exchange and arrested and charged Lindsay for assault. The exchange was also caught on video.

But for provincial court judge Cathaline Heinrichs, she said it was as much about who he is as what he did.

She called him a community leader who had a greater responsibility not to lead a mob to a health facility, let alone assault people in front of them.

“Mr. Lindsay has the additional expectation of acting responsibly, as it is evident that the people who have written support letters on his behalf and participated in his rallies take their cues from him,” she said.

Again, Lindsay being who he is, he made his own situation more difficult during the course of court proceedings. He minimized his actions and was “two-faced”, Heinrichs said, in how he argued one thing then proved the opposite.

“Words to the effect that 'it wasn't really an assault, just a jostle,' and 'there are no victims' erode my confidence that he has learned from his actions, warranting a more significant sentence than a less significant sentence.”

Lindsay actually appeared for his sentencing today, supported again by roughly 40 people in the gallery, many of whom made it clear what they thought of Heinrichs’ reasoning.

Lindsay was to be sentenced four weeks ago but had to be rescheduled because of an emergency medical situation. 

The man who has lead, at times, hundreds of people against pandemic health measures in weekly rallies in Kelowna for years, and spread false information about the integrity of the health system — had to check himself into a hospital. There was no mention of it again in court Friday.

Judge Heinrichs noted his criminal record, which includes past charges for dishonesty – theft, refusing to provide a breath sample; and civil disobedience — failing to comply with the Income Tax Act as proof he needed something resembling a jail sentence, not a suspended sentence or a discharge.

She gave him 120 days for the assaults and two years probation.

“It will send a strong, clear message that Mr. Lindsay's action in applying force against the security officers is an act of violence and unacceptable in our society.”

His record also factored in her sentence for contempt, as well as the fact he’s been declared a vexatious litigant by the BC Supreme Court and the BC Court of Appeal. That basically means he filed so many frivolous lawsuits, he needs judicial approval to use the court system again.

“Having been declared a vexatious litigant, effectively Mr. Lindsay has been put on notice to be on his best behavior in the presence of the courts,” she said.

Her sentence wasn’t confined to just his refusal to follow her orders during the trial which triggered the contempt charge in the first place. Throughout the proceedings, he made numerous personal comments about the prosecutor, the victims, the media, the assault victims — and judge Heinrichs herself.

She was going to keep him under house arrest for an additional 30 days but a technicality forced her to allow Lindsay to serve that sentence while serving time for assault.

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