Former leader of the La Meute identity group and current leader of the Farfadaas, Steeve L’Artiss Charland, his wife Karol La Louv Tardif and Mario Roy have been found guilty across the board.
Judged as the instigator of the blockade, Mario Roy, an anti-sanitary mask leader who no longer describes himself as such, answered questions from journalists in the corridors of the Montreal courthouse.
Mr. Roy will appeal, he said as he exited the courtroom.
The co-accused criticized the media coverage of the blockade, arguing that it was not a demonstration against health measures, but a resistance to police brutality: We demonstrated, for me that is a right and I do not regret it at all after he had demonstrated to denounce police brutality.
The aim was not to make the population sweat, he assures us, but to “denounce the realities of what was happening.
A necessary evil, argued Mr. Roy, but one that didn’t resonate with other deadlocks.
“There have been protests in the past […] Nurses blockading the Jacques Cartier Bridge and the Quebec Bridge at the same time and there was no charge. Why the rest of us would have [des accusations]. »
— A quote from Mario Roy, co-defendant
On the evening of March 13, 2021, anti-mask activists stopped their vehicles in the middle of the Louis-Hippolyte-La Fontaine Tunnel, blocking the three northbound lanes.
One of the vehicles had been playing Steeve L’Artiss Charland’s song Cut the cable, which has become something of a Farfadaas anthem during the pandemic.
Faced with the bang, an impatient motorist armed with a hammer got out of his vehicle and smashed the lights of vehicles blocking traffic. The scene was filmed and posted on social media.
An ex-farfadaa admitted his guilt
When the trial opened in early January, one of the defendants, ex-Farfadaa André Desfossés, pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of assault. Following his response to the charges, the Crown dropped the conspiracy charge against him.
Another co-defendant, Tommy Rioux, was acquitted at trial. The last member of the Farfadaas to be present during the blockade is Michel Jr. Deshaies, who died in the summer of 2022.