CBC reporters watched Ontario Court of Justice staff restart a mock hearing at least twice after several interruptions by unidentified observers. People can join virtual courtrooms, set up during the pandemic, through Zoom meeting IDs and passwords provided by the courthouse. It is quite common for those not directly involved in the process to use titles other than their names, such as “observer” and “citizen” and to turn off their microphones and turn off their cameras to avoid disrupting the process. In Ottawa’s virtual remand court Wednesday morning, several unidentified users joined in and played music before being silenced and removed by the court clerk at the request of Justice of the Peace Anne Colterman. Some of the music played in court sounded like Russian choral music and some was electronic. CBC producer Stephen Hoff said he “hadn’t seen a disruption of this scale in a virtual Ottawa courtroom since the initial Pat King hearings earlier this year.” King was a key figure during the Freedom Convoy protest that blocked the streets of downtown Ottawa for weeks in January and February. He faces charges of disorderly conduct, counseling to commit disorderly conduct, counseling to commit the offense of disobeying a court order, counseling to obstruct police, obstructing justice and perjury and his next court appearance is in early September.
The escort supporter was physically removed from the court
Later Wednesday morning, Freedom Convoy supporter Walter Derksen — commonly known as Brian Derksen, “the trucker who never left” — appeared in person in courtroom 14 and repeatedly interrupted Justice of the Peace Colterman, the Crown and the judge employee. Derksen said God is his lawyer, among other things, and insisted over and over that it was the Crown. Such views are common in the sovereign citizen movement, which claims, among other things, that courts have no jurisdiction over people. Derksen is charged with obstructing a peace officer and causing a disturbance while intoxicated. Justice of the Peace Colterman eventually ordered Derksen removed from the courtroom by police. His next appearance is set for early September.
title: “Ottawa S Virtual Courtroom Is Plagued With Downtime On Wednesday Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-04” author: “Julia Arnold”
CBC reporters watched Ontario Court of Justice staff restart a mock hearing at least twice after several interruptions by unidentified observers. People can join virtual courtrooms, set up during the pandemic, through Zoom meeting IDs and passwords provided by the courthouse. It is quite common for those not directly involved in the process to use titles other than their names, such as “observer” and “citizen” and to turn off their microphones and turn off their cameras to avoid disrupting the process. In Ottawa’s virtual remand court Wednesday morning, several unidentified users joined in and played music before being silenced and removed by the court clerk at the request of Justice of the Peace Anne Colterman. Some of the music played in court sounded like Russian choral music and some was electronic. CBC producer Stephen Hoff said he “hadn’t seen a disruption of this scale in a virtual Ottawa courtroom since the initial Pat King hearings earlier this year.” King was a key figure during the Freedom Convoy protest that blocked the streets of downtown Ottawa for weeks in January and February. He faces charges of disorderly conduct, counseling to commit disorderly conduct, counseling to commit the offense of disobeying a court order, counseling to obstruct police, obstructing justice and perjury and his next court appearance is in early September.
The escort supporter was physically removed from the court
Later Wednesday morning, Freedom Convoy supporter Walter Derksen — commonly known as Brian Derksen, “the trucker who never left” — appeared in person in courtroom 14 and repeatedly interrupted Justice of the Peace Colterman, the Crown and the judge employee. Derksen said God is his lawyer, among other things, and insisted over and over that it was the Crown. Such views are common in the sovereign citizen movement, which claims, among other things, that courts have no jurisdiction over people. Derksen is charged with obstructing a peace officer and causing a disturbance while intoxicated. Justice of the Peace Colterman eventually ordered Derksen removed from the courtroom by police. His next appearance is set for early September.
