The man at the centre of Canada’s first paper terrorism case walked away from court a free man after the charges against him were stayed Monday.
As the court was scheduled to hear from the first witness in what was expected to be a week-long trial, there was a unexpected turn. The Crown prosecutor asked to stay both of the charges against Allen Boisjoli.
Boisjoli’s court case dates back to May 2015 when he was pulled over by a peace officer in Beaver County. The interaction was recorded by Boisjoli and posted on YouTube.
“You have a reason for speeding today?” the officer is heard saying.
“I don’t know if speeding is a crime. Where’s the victim? Is speeding a crime or what?” the driver responds.
“It’s against the law,” the officer says.
“I beg to differ,” Boisjoli explains.
After he was handed a speeding ticket, Boisjoli placed a $225,000 lien on the home of the officer who wrote up the ticket.
He also flooded the court with other paperwork, tying up the system. Police called it paper terrorism and he was charged with engaging in conduct with the intent to provoke a state of fear in a justice system participant and a breach of probation. He was later forced to pay the speeding ticket.
In court Monday, Boisjoli questioned the court’s position to rule over him, arguing there was no way to definitively prove he was in Alberta when the alleged offences were committed, as he doesn’t recognize it as a physical place.
“All of their laws and all of their statute codes rely on the fact that you’re within their jurisdiction, that you’re within their imaginary borders,” he said. “Any of these political subdivisions are actually just a fiction of law. It’s basically an imaginary construct that they make up.”
He also told Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Sterling Sanderman he never agreed to be bound by the rules of society.
“Canada is supposed to be a free and democratic society and I shouldn’t be forced to be a member of it,” Boisjoli said.
But he said he does follow certain rules that he believes are of a higher form, adding “I’m not lawless.”
Even after the judge explained how Canadian laws were made, Boisjoli did not recognize the court’s authority.
“If they just followed the rules, I’m sure everybody would get along. But they seem to think the rules don’t count for them.”
Sanderman patiently listened to Boisjoli’s repeated objections in court, but eventually said “it’s sort of an Alice in Wonderland argument.”
He also called his pages upon pages of supporting documentation “gibberish” and “nonsense.”
Sanderman also challenged the crown, saying “it appears as though you’re going after a mosquito with a bazooka.”
At a lunch break, Boisjoli expressed his frustration with the process.
“I already have enough to appeal, so this trial is just a joke. It’s a waste of time.”
But when court resumed Monday afternoon to hear the first witness, the crown asked for a stay, allowing Boisjoli to leave a free man.
Outside the law courts, Boisjoli expressed his shock.
“This day, the Canadian justice system actually worked, which I find pretty surprising.”
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