Police charge Freeman with ‘paper terrorism’

EDMONTON — Edmonton police say they are sending a message to people who attempt to use “paper terrorism” to subvert the justice system by laying a precedent-setting charge against a selfproclaimed Freeman on the Land.

Police have charged Allen Boisjoli, 45, of Vegreville, with intimidation of a justice system participant, following Boisjoli’s alleged reaction to being stopped and issued a speeding ticket by a community peace officer in Beaver County southeast of Edmonton in May 2015.

Bolshoi filmed the incident, posted to YouTube, and then launched a campaign of legal filings against the officer. He attempted to file a lien against the officer in Edmonton courts, claiming that the officer was liable for $225,000 for detaining him and issuing the ticket.

Speaking about the charge on Tuesday, Det. Rae Gerrard said the “paper terrorism” tactics allegedly used by Boisjoli are typical of the Freeman on the Land.

“They use a plethora of documents, which really mean absolutely nothing,” Gerrard said. “They’re just cutting and pasting from all over the Internet, from all over the world. They put them together in hundreds and hundreds of pages of documents and flood the courts with this, just in an effort to overwhelm the courts and confuse people.”

What makes this charge “precedent setting,” Gerrard said, is that this is the first time police in Canada have been able to pin a charge to a Freeman based on the practice of trying to overwhelm and intimidate the legal system with filings.

Gerrard said Boisjoli was arrested and charged on Aug. 27. He said so far Boisjoli has not “accepted” the charge, and has not retained a lawyer.

Boisjoli’s next court appearance is set for Nov. 7.

In October 2015, a top Alberta judge targeted the Freemen on the Land movement — and Boisjoli — in a decision declaring him to be a “vexatious litigant.”

The lengthy and scathing decision by Court of Queen’s Bench Associate Chief Justice John Rooke restricts Boisjoli from filing or continuing actions in all Alberta courts.

“The restrictions this court places on Boisjoli’s ability to access Alberta courts are unusual and strict, but Boisjoli’s history and his current attempt to misuse court procedure to further a criminal enterprise warrant this intervention,” said Rooke in the written decision.