If only he had known.
If only he had known the Crown prosecutor was going to argue for a jail term.
If only he had known that the jail term being sought was not for punishment, but as a “strong deterrent.”
If only he had known that the nation’s broadcaster, which survives on a $1.2 billion annual stipend from the taxpayer, was going to use stronger words in its headline … yes, that actual “rocks” were thrown at the prime minister, and not just loose “gravel.”
Yes, if only Shane Marshall had only known but he didn’t. Instead, he was being as dumb as a post. As his lawyer argued, he was too caught up in the moment to be thinking with a clear mind.
But now he is facing 30 stiff days in the slammer, with Ontario Court Justice Kevin McHugh reserving his sentence to May 8.
Luke Reidy, Shane Marshall’s lawyer, told a London, Ont., courtroom that his client came to a Justin Trudeau campaign stop in September 2021 to protest with a small but raucous crowd, but not to throw gravel.
Reidy said Marshall, 26, had issues with impulse control and anger management that took over that day, causing him to hurl gravel very-publicly in the direction of Justin Trudeau as he boarded a campaign bus about two weeks before he was re-elected as prime minister.
“Mr. Marshall had no intention to go out that day and commit this assault,” said Reidy. “He understands what he’s done and he’s remorseful.”
As part of sentencing submissions, Reidy said a suspended sentence without jail time was appropriate for the St. Thomas, Ont., man, who in March pleaded guilty to assault, the charge lowered from assault with a weapon.
“Mr. Marshall had no intention to go out that day and commit this assault,” said Reidy. “He understands what he’s done and he’s remorseful.”
Reidy said his client would also agree to seek counselling for a year to address his anger issues and perform 60 days of community service.
When asked if he had anything to say, Marshall stood up and told the court he apologized “to everyone” for his actions, without naming Trudeau specifically. Trudeau was not injured in the incident during a campaign stop at a brewery in London’s east end.
Crown attorney Jeremy Carnegie argued for a sentence that would include 30 days of jail time followed by a year’s probation.
He said assaults against politicians are also “assaults on the democratic process, and could cause people to become hesitant about seeking political office.”
He said a “strong deterrent” is needed to prevent similar attacks.
“Violence against any political candidate could hurt democracy as a whole,” said Carnegie. “The right to protest stops before we get to violence. Thirty days should show the court that he takes this offence seriously. We need to deter people from this kind of behaviour.”
Marshall is a former riding association president of Maxime Bernier’s People’s Party of Canada (PPC) who, as part of his defence, tried in vain to have Trudeau testify in the case.
The PPC has previously said it removed Marshall as riding association president after reviewing video clips of the incident.
The only cases that come close to resembling Marshall’s actions were the well-publicized events two decades ago when then-Prime Minister Jean Chretien got a pie in the face in 2000, with the same thing happening to then-Alberta Premier Ralph Klein in 2004.
The two people charged in those cases were each sent to jail for 30 days for assault – although Chretien’s pie-thrower was given time served on appeal.
Prosecutor Carnegie said a cream pie to humiliate an official is much different than a handful of gravel that could have injured the prime minister.
Either way, May 8 is judgment day.
