Two-day trial on assault charge set for former Kenney organizer

CALGARY Former Tory organizer Alan Hallman will stand trial this summer in connection with an assault allegation stemming from a scuffle at the PC party leadership convention in March.

Defence counsel Dale Fedorchuk appeared in Calgary provincial court on Friday on Hallman’s behalf and entered a not-guilty plea on behalf of his client.

Fedorchuk set a two-day trial to begin Aug. 28.

Outside court the lawyer said Hallman has maintained his innocence throughout.

“Mr. Hallman has elected to take his case to trial because he feels strongly that he is not guilty of assault,” Fedorchuk said.

“He maintains that he was shoved repeatedly as he was escorted out of the building and he responded defensively to those assaults.”

Fedorchuk said people should keep an open mind about the case.

“I would ask the public to remember that Mr. Hallman shares their constitutional right to be presumed innocent unless and until he is proven guilty.”

Hallman was not present in court for the brief proceeding. He was charged following a March 17 altercation at the Telus Convention Centre in Calgary where Jason Kenney was elected the new leader of the provincial Progressive Conservatives.

Hallman had previously acted as a campaign organizer for Kenney, but was suspended by the party for one year for breaching its leadership code of conduct after posting inappropriate tweets.

Blaise Boehmer, spokesman for the Kenney campaign, said Hallman was removed by security from the Kenney campaign’s hospitality suite, but didn’t know why.

Boehmer said Hallman was not a delegate, and hadn’t worked on the Kenney campaign since his suspension back in January.

Hallman is barred from attending any party events, but Boehmer said the hospitality suite was not considered an official party event.

Hallman released a statement the day after the incident acknowledging that “an unfortunate police-involved altercation occurred at or near the PC leadership convention,” and that he “regrets any inconvenience or upset that may have resulted from this incident.”