Probation-related charges against Pride defender withdrawn

Charges against a Hamilton man, in connection with a violent clash at Pride 2019, have been withdrawn in exchange for a peace bond.

David Prychitka was charged with breaching probation. Those charges were dropped in court Thursday after he agreed to keep the peace and be of good behaviour and to not possess any weapons for a year.

Prychitka was one of a handful of people charged following violence between homophobic disrupters and Pride defenders at Gage Park on June 15, 2019. He was among the Pride defenders charged in the fallout, which saw police heavily criticized for their response.

In a very brief summary of the case in court via Zoom, the prosecution said police identified Prychitka in videos taken during the violent protest as a victim of an assault, noting that he would have had obvious injuries. At the time of Pride 2019, Prychitka was on probation after pleading guilty to mischief for a March 2018 vandalism spree that saw a masked group march on Locke Street South. In that case he was handed a conditional discharge and 18 months probation.

A condition of his probation, court heard, was that he not participate in protests or demonstrations that are not peaceful — the basis for the probation violation charges.

The cases of two other Pride defenders are still before the courts, including that of Barry Conway, who is charged with assault.

Cedar Hopperton’s parole was also revoked in the aftermath. They were released a month later. Hopperton was not at Pride but gave an impassioned speech at a public event after.

Meanwhile, anti-Pride protester Christopher Vanderweide pleaded guilty last September to one count of assault with a weapon for wielding a helmet. He was given a suspended sentence and a year probation. In November York Regional Police charged him with uttering threats and breaching probation for alleged threats made against Canadian Anti-Hate Network (CAHN) executives in an online chat.