Two men who pleaded guilty to assaulting Tyendinaga police at the Skyway Bridge blockade have been sentenced to 95 days in jail.
Charles E. Kloetstra, 38, and Paul VanHooser, 43, had entered their pleas July 9.
The court heard testimony that, on June 13, the men were among 13 protesters arrested as police moved in on the bridge blockade. The pair jumped on the backs of two Tyendinaga Mohawk Police officers. Kloetstra put one officer in a headlock, court had heard, and an officer received a minor injury to his hand in the scuffle.
"The police did all they could to negotiate" prior to beginning the arrests, Judge Geoff Griffin said in Belleville criminal court Thursday, recalling police warnings to protesters to vacate the bridge or be arrested.
The judge's statement brought guffaws from those who were protesters at the bridge and supporters sitting in the courtroom.
Griffin said the blockade was "a rogue act by a group of people led by Shawn Brant." He said it inconvenienced area residents and created a public safety concern.
He noted Kloetstra and VanHooser were not organizers of the protest.
Crown attorney Lee Burgess sought a 12-month jail sentence for the pair; defence lawyer Greg Brant, brother of Shawn Brant, had asked for a shorter term.
Griffin said the sentence must deter both men.
He said the blockade was made in support of Akwesasne Mohawks' opposition to the proposed arming of customs officers on the reserve, but that the chiefs of both Akwesasne and the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte had asked local protesters to clear the bridge.
The judge said the blockade was not associated with the "meritorious" Mohawk land claim in the area nor with the Mohawk-occupied quarry north of Deseronto and that such issues can play a role in the sentencing of native residents.
"I cannot lose sight of the fact these two accused are not Mohawks and men on Mohawk land assaulting Mohawk men," said Griffin. VanHooser, however, had earlier argued his mother was Mohawk.
Kloetstra had 19 previous criminal convictions spanning the years 1991 to 2008. VanHooser had 14 convictions between 2005 and this year, Griffin said. They included two assaults and two convictions on the charge of assault with a weapon.
Each had served 35 days pretrial custody at Napanee's overcrowded Quinte Detention Centre.
Griffin said a sentence of five-and- a-half months was appropriate. He said they deserved two-for- one credit for pre-trial custody; had saved the court time and expense by entering early guilty pleas; and their attacks on police were not "punching, kicking or aggressive fighting."
Given those circumstances, Griffin said, the Crown's 12- month proposal was "harsh."
Griffin recalled Shawn Brant's comments to the press that protesters were prepared to go to jail for their roles in the blockade.
Subtracting the credit for time served, the judge sentenced Kloetstra and VanHooser to 95 days in jail plus two years of probation.
Though they will not have to report to police during their probation, Griffin banned both men from participating in protests during that time.
Citing a request from R. Donald Maracle, chief of the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte, Griffin also barred the pair from being on the Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory without band council consent during the two years. If consent is granted, Griffin said, council can also revoke it at any time.
Both men are already under 10-year weapons bans ordered within the last two years. VanHooser's DNA is on file in the national databank; Kloetstra was ordered to provide a sample.
