PAINTED PM’S statue to MAKE POINT

REGINA • A Saskatchewan man who has now been charged with vandalizing a statue of Sir John A. Macdonald in a Regina park last week says he has no regrets.

Patrick Johnson reached out to the Regina Leaderpost on Aug. 22 — a day after the statue was spray painted — to claim responsibility.

He said he sprayed red paint on the statue’s hands red in the early hours of Aug. 21 as an act of civil disobedience in protest of injustices against Canada’s First Nations people. The red paint was meant to symbolize blood.

After getting a visit from Regina police on Sunday, Johnson said he was charged with mischief under $5,000.

Johnson was still in good spirits while speaking during a phone interview on Monday.

“I just wanted to be on the right side of history,” said Johnson.

Johnson is scheduled to appear in court on Sept. 27.

He said he was not held in custody but released on conditions, which included a promise not to paint the statue again.

Johnson claims to have spray painted the statue once before, but decided to go public this time in an effort to generate further discussion around First Nations rights.

Johnson lives in Vibank, Sask., but works in Regina as a music director at a local church.

The 47-year-old is the father of two daughters.

Many have expressed displeasure with Johnson’s alleged actions on social media, something with which he is also at peace.

“Everyone’s entitled to their opinion, eh? So I think that’s kind of what I would support first of all, that they’re welcome to feel whichever way and I was just representing a marginalized part of our population,” said Johnson.

Johnson said he told police that he painted the statue, and plans to plead guilty to the charge when he appears in court.

He called his interaction with police positive, and said the officers were professional and objective.

Johnson hopes his actions, and the ensuing court case, will be a beacon for others speak up if they feel they see injustice.

At the moment, he isn’t concerned about the consequences he’ ll personally face.

“It’s certainly not a blot for me,” said Johnson. “It’s more just like a passage in my life.”

On Monday, Regina police confirmed a charge of mischief had been laid.

“Police were first made aware of the damage to the statue on Tuesday, August 21, 2018 but it wasn’t until later in the week that a suspect in the case emerged,” police said in a news release.

“This was largely due to a Leader-post newspaper story about the incident. After an investigation to determine the validity of the information, a 47 year-old male was arrested,” it stated.