Nipawin man accused of threatening Trudeau, Parliament

A Nipawin man is facing charges after allegedly threatening to shoot Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and blow up the Parliament buildings.

David Petersen, 52, was arrested Wednesday by Nipawin RCMP and charged with uttering threats against the prime minister and uttering threats against Parliament, according to a news release issued Thursday by the Mounties.

On Feb. 12, the Saskatchewan RCMP’S National Security Enforcement Section learned about statements allegedly made over the phone to an employee at a Canadian government agency, according to the release. The RCMP said that during the phone call, a man threatened he would shoot Trudeau and blow up the Parliament buildings. The call was reported to Nipawin RCMP, which began an investigation.

The RCMP said there has been no contact between Petersen and the prime minister.

Petersen is scheduled to appear in Nipawin provincial court on March 6. The Saskatchewan National Security Enforcement Section is continuing to investigate.

Asked if he had any comment when reached by phone Thursday and read the RCMP news release, Petersen indicated he had been on a call with someone at the Canada Revenue Agency. But he denied making any threats to shoot the prime minister or blow up the Parliament buildings.

“That’s not what I said. It’s out of context. It’s unfair,” he replied.

He said he’s currently under a condition to stay 500 metres away from the prime minister, so clearly it’s “pretty serious.”

Last year, Petersen was one of two commenters and eight administrators of Nipawin-related Facebook pages named in a lawsuit filed by Brian Starkell, the chief of Nipawin’s fire department.

The Facebook comments, made in 2017, pertained to the mechanical failure of Starkell’s town-issued work vehicle. Some had accused Starkell of intentionally damaging it to get a new one.

In an interview with the Starphoenix at the time, Petersen acknowledged posting the comments listed in Starkell’s lawsuit, but said the examples quoted in the lawsuit left out more of what was in the post.

This is not the first time a Saskatchewan resident has faced charges of making threats to the prime minister.

In 2017, Christopher Hayes was found guilty of uttering threats against Trudeau after publishing expletive-laden posts on Facebook saying Trudeau should be shot.

Hayes was fined $500 and given nine months of probation, which included a ban on attending events with Trudeau.

He was also prohibited from owning firearms for three years.