Medicine Hat’s CHAT News Today! reports Loki Hulgaard will appeal his conviction and sentence in favour of a new trial by judge and jury.

A long and twisted legal road led to Hulgaard pleading guilty to this single charge of willfully promoting hatred, and it is this plea that’s at the centre of of Loki Hulgaard’s appeal.

At some point in the legal process, all Firearms Act charges against Loki Hulgaard were dropped. News reports say this was part of a guilty plea arrangement while Hulgaard says the gun charges were dropped months ago after he challenged the legality of the search warrant.

Hulgaard’s guilty plea meant the legality of the search warrant never went to trial, so the veracity of his claims were never ruled upon.

Hulgaard now wants the guilty plea and the conditional sentence resulting from it thrown out and a new trial ordered because:

1. he says his lawyer never provided him with “informed advice”
2. the conditions of his sentence violate his right to free expression as guaranteed by the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Last month, as a result of pleading guilty to willfully promoting hatred against an identifiable group, Provincial Court Judge John Maher sentenced Loki Hulgaard to a one-year conditional sentence, meaning he would not go to prison so long as he abides by the conditions set down by the Judge Maher.

Judge John Maher set 21 conditions Loki Hulgaard must abide by to avoid jail time (see complete list at the bottom of the page), including:

• four months house arrest, followed by ab 8-month  curfew from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m.
• a firearms prohibition order of unspecified length
• remove all text and video content he posted to the internet
• prohibited from publishing content on the internet for one year (possibly longer, the conditional sentence order is unclear on this point)
• prohibited from contacting a list of specific people or visiting a list of specific places

Loki Hulgaard, when contacted via email, gave this explanation for his appeal:

The guilty plea was not voluntarily entered as it was uninformed because:

1) my lawyer Mr. Hadford didn’t provide me with informed advice; and

2) the sentence imposed contains conditions that are unreasonable and violate my freedom of expression and conscience having been made under undue influence by both the crown and lawyer who I suspect were in collusion together as they are both presumably cabal members.

3) the death threats; community harassment via email and in person (constant and ongoing) and 24/7 surveillance by community members also exerted unofficial pressure.

Mr. Hulgaard’s former attorney declined to be interviewed for this article.

 

Loki Hulgaard’s Conditional Sentence

The court is satisfied that the serving of the sentence in the community would not endanger the safety of the community. It is ordered that the offender be allowed to serve the sentence within the community subject to the following conditions:

That the offender shall for a period of 12.00 months(s) from the date of this order (February 26, 2020)

• Five deleted conditions

It is further ordered that the offender:

1. You shall keep the peace and be of good behaviour.
2. You shall appear before the court when required to do so.
3. You shall notify the court or your supervisor of any change of name, address, employment or occupation.
4. You shall report tomorrow, October 23, 2020 before 11:00 a.m. to a supervisor and thereafter, as and when required by the supervisor.
5. You shall remain within the Province of Alberta unless you have written permission from your supervisor to leave the Province of Alberta.
6. You shall not communicate, directly or indirectly, with any of the following named persons:
   1. Michelle Burton
   2. Yi Fan
   3. Marie-Claude Scahill
   4. Chelsea Masterman
   5. Joanna Bradbury
   6. Jeffrey Lackie

7. You shall reside at ADDRESS REDACTED, Alberta or such other address for which you have written approval from your supervisor and shall not change residence without prior written consent from your supervisor.
8. For the first four months of this conditional sentence order, you shall remain in your approved residence, or on its grounds, 24-hours a day, 7 days a week, except where specifically permitted otherwise by the terms of this condition [sic] sentence order.
9. For the remaining 8 months of this condition [sic] sentence order, you shall abide by a curfew and remain in your approved residence, or on its grounds between the hours of 8:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m., 7 days a week, except where specifically permitted otherwise by the terms of this conditional sentence order.
10. You shall be available to answer the phone, and to present yourself at the door, to a supervisor or peace officer who attends to verify compliance with this term.
11. You may be absent from your residence or its grounds during the period of your house arrest or curfew for the following purposes:
    1. To attend your place of employment, education or training, or to attend a job interview, if you are not currently employed
    2. To attend scheduled medical, dental or health-related appointments
    3. To attend such assessments, counselling or treatment as has been ordered by the court or directed by your supervisor
    4. To shop for grocers, clothes and necessities of life, one day a week, for a period of no more than four hours
    5. To vote in a municipal, provincial or federal election
    6. To attend court as required
    7. To report to your supervisor
    8. To attend scheduled appointments with your legal counsel
    9. Any other exception approved in writing in advance by your supervisor

12. If you are required to attend any hospital, health centre or clinic or dental related emergencies, you may attend at such a place without first obtaining the consent of your supervisor, provided that forthwith upon your return to your residence, you advise your supervisor, by telephone or thereafter, in writing of your attendance, its location and time.
13. You shall attend for such assessment and counselling as the court is now directing or as may be directed by your supervisor, and fully participate in the interprovincial program Chinook model. You shall provide satisfactory written proof of attendance to your supervisor and you shall complete the Chinook program to the satisfaction of your supervisor and provide proof of such completion.
14. You shall sign any release or waiver of information as directed by your supervisor to provide access to medical, counselling or treatment information as required by your supervisor.
15. You shall not own or be in possession of any weapons, including a knife, except for culinary or work purposes.
16. You shall not possess any firearm, cross-bow, prohibited weapon, restricted weapon, prohibited device, ammunition, prohibited ammunition or explosive substance. If you have any of these items in your possession you must arrange to surrender the items.
17. You shall sign any such release or waiver of information as requested by your supervisor providing access to information required by your supervisor in order to properly supervise you.
18. You shall not attend at:
    1. Saamis Immigration Services in Medicine Hat (659 3 Street SE)
    2. Safeway Medicine Hat (502 2 street SE)
    3. St. John’s Presbyterian Church in Medicine Hat (101 6 street SE)
    4. Within 100 meters of any synagogue, Jewish community or cultural centre, or public gathering related to the Jewish or LGBTQ community

19. You may not associate with anyone known to you to be affiliated with a white supremacist group whose purpose it is to promote hate.
20. You shall not publish or post, directly or indirectly, any material with any internet site or any other social media platform where such postings or publications can be read by the general public, any information about immigrants, persons of Jewish religion or ethnic origin.
21. You shall remove the manifesto written by you, and all videos you posted from the internet, within 2 weeks, and refrain from uploading any new materials of the internet or social media.