A blockade and demonstration at a Trans Mountain work site near Blue River.
Image Credit: TWITTER/Kanahus Manuel
September 24, 2021 - 2:45 PM
Tiny House Warriors have continued to protest construction at Trans Mountain Pipeline work sites with an altercation earlier this month that sent a security guard to hospital.
Trans Mountain security attempted to intervene near Blue River when protesters broke through a fence and started to throw rocks at workers and equipment, Sept. 15, according to B.C. RCMP.
Five people were eventually arrested and "several others" escaped police by running into the woods nearby.
Tiny House Warriors, largely led by Kanahus Manuel, have been actively protesting and attempting to block roads and construction operations since at least 2018, according to Thompson Nicola Regional District director Stephen Quinn.
READ MORE: 2 Tiny House Warriors found guilty of intimidation, theft in pipeline protest
The regional district board was in unanimous support of a suggestion to send a letter to Premier John Horgan to request his personal involvement in the matter, which they voted on at a board meeting, Sept. 23.
"Our concern all along was this would this escalate to violence," Quinn said.
The regional district, he said, had previously sent a letter to the province in 2019 to request additional policing in the Blue River area, which was met with support and additional resources.
Quinn said along with one security worker with Trans Mountain being sent to hospital, protesters caused over $75,000 in damage.
While one employee was injured, others were also threatened and assaulted with weapons, according to B.C. RCMP spokesperson Staff Sgt. Janelle Shoihet.
A small tree was also lit on fire and laid across the road to block access on Murtle Lake Road in Blue River.
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Members of the Tiny House Warriors have faced numerous criminal charges in relation to protests at pipeline construction since 2018.
On May 19, Nicole Manuel was found guilty of intimidation using violent threats for an incident near a Trans Mountain pump station in September 2019.
According to the court decision, Nicole Manuel called one of the security workers a pervert, pedophile and "rapist of Mother Earth," and also claimed she knew where two of the security workers kids went to school.
Her sister, Kanahus Manuel, was found guilty in the same trial of theft under $5,000 for stealing a padlock used on a Trans Mountain gate.
B.C. RCMP say the five people arrested on Sept. 15 were released with conditions and are scheduled to appear in court on a later date.
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Police are still trying to identify the protesters who evaded arrest.
iNFOnews.ca reached out to the Tiny House Warriors for comment, but they did not respond in time for publication.
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