BACKSIES? – Hulgaard, now sentenced, wants plea withdrawn

A Medicine Hat man sentenced this fall to house arrest for willfully promoting hatred against Jews has applied to rescind his guilty plea.

Loki Holger Hulgaard let an earlier guilty plea stand during a confusing day at Medicine Hat Provincial Court on Oct. 22.

He had made overtures that he planned to seek to reverse the plea, entered in February, though a new defence attorney said a deal had been reached on sentencing, and Hulgaard himself didn’t appear for the morning hearing.

After he was brought to court by police on a bench warrant in the afternoon, he was sentenced to one year house arrest and a further two years probation on conditions that he attend intensive counselling, among others.

In papers filed Nov. 5 with the Alberta Court of Appeal, Hulgaard states that the plea was not voluntarily entered, his lawyer provided bad advice and his sentence is “unreasonable” and “violates my freedom of expression and conscience.”

He intends to represent himself in person in the appeal, and asks for a trial by judge and jury.

As is standard, there is no immediate timeline on when the Appeal Court will consider or rule on the application.

Hulgaard was arrested in the summer of 2018 after a cashier at a local grocery store was handed bills stamped with “ZOG” and “Jewish White

Genocide.”

Those refer to “Zionist Occupational Government” — a theory that Jews operate a shadow government in Western nations — and the theory that high levels of immigration are a plot overwhelm European culture.

A search of his home turned up guns with serial numbers removed, a stockpile of ammunition and what was described as “hate literature” by Medicine Hat Police, as well as cash.

Provincial Court judge John Mahar called ideological statements “false” and said that Hulgaard’s actions caused harm to the community.

Hulgaard initially pleaded guilty to the charges in February, but almost immediately announced on social media his intention to vacate the plea.

That can only take place in front of the presiding judge (Mahar), who like defence attorney Scott Hadford and a special prosecutor, do not reside in Medicine Hat.

At the Oct. 22 hearing, Hadford told the court that in the absence of his client he wished to remain on record as his attorney and based on discussions with Hulgaard, he wanted the matter resolved that day.

Hulgaard was eventually also sentenced for one count of violating firearm licensing regulations, a non-criminal offence, for not updating his paper work when he legally changed his name, from Brendan Dell, in 2012.