Edmonton man charged with threatening PM

EDMONTON A 41-year-old Edmonton man is facing a criminal charge after the RCMP tracked a social media account used to post threatening messages against members of the Canadian government, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

The RCMP’s Integrated National Security Enforcement Team (KINSET) in Edmonton learned of the threatening messages Feb. 5, four days after Trudeau fielded questions from a crowd of 1,400 people at MacEwan University as part of a national series of town

hall meetings.

Investigators identified an Edmonton address and individual account holder linked to the social media account used to send the messages and made an arrest Feb. 15, RCMP said in a Tuesday news release.

The man was released from custody on the condition of being banned from going within 500 metres of Trudeau. He must also stay in Alberta and is prohibited from accessing social media sites.

Robert Dale Kerr, 41, is charged with uttering threats. He is scheduled to appear in Edmonton provincial court Thursday.

In January, Leduc-area man Orion Rutley was charged with two counts of uttering threats after being accused of posting threatening messages about Trudeau and Premier Rachel Notley on Twitter.

Lisa Seymore-Peters, 49, of Lethbridge was charged with one count of uttering threats in May 2017 after allegedly posting threats on social media aimed at Sophie Gregoire Trudeau, Trudeau’s wife.