Anti-racism activist suing PPC, Fletcher for $1.3 million

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This article was published 13/10/2020 (1792 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A local anti-racism activist is suing the People’s Party of Canada and one-time candidate Steven Fletcher for defamation and invasion of privacy.

Oumer Kinnarath is seeking $1.3 million in damages, claiming a local branch of the party posted a picture on social media labelling him a “terrorist” and including his contact information.

“The defendants conduct… as well as the harassment and threats against Kinnarath as a result of the publications, have caused significant fear, stress, anxiety, mental suffering and humiliation to Kinnarath and compromised his personal safety and that of his family,” says a lawsuit filed last week.

Fletcher, a former Conservative MP and independent MLA, ran for the PPC in Charleswood — St. James — Assiniboia — Headingley in last year’s federal election. The fledgling populist party led by former Tory MP Maxime Bernier failed to win a single seat.

Other defendants named in the lawsuit include Monique Choiselat, then-chief executive officer for the party’s Winnipeg Centre riding association, and Yogi Henderson, 2019 PPC candidate for Winnipeg Centre.

The lawsuit comes 15 months after the Winnipeg Centre riding association claimed online Kinnarath was the reason an Exchange District gallery owner had cancelled a rally the party had planned at the city site.

At the time, Kinnarath said on social media he had contacted the owner of Cre8ery Gallery and Studio to let her know about the “blatant racism” and “anti-LGBT stance” of some PPC members.

“Our rally is cancelled because this guy terrorized the struggling gallery owner into cancelling our venue,” said a post on the Winnipeg Centre riding association web page and Choiselat’s Facebook page. The post showed a picture of Kinnarath, called him a terrorist, and included a home address and phone number, both of which were out of date.

Kinnarath, who owns a downtown Winnipeg clothing store, “continues to fear that he may be physically assaulted or targeted based on the publications, and as a result, was forced to take security precautions, including installing a video camera at his place of business and changing his phone number,” says the lawsuit.

The lawsuit alleges two PPC supporters also named in the court action accosted and filmed Kinnarath at his business in August 2019. The two defendants later posted the footage on YouTube, along with images and statements about Antifa (an anti-fascist protest movement), says the lawsuit.

The lawsuit alleges Kinnarath had already served PPC notice of his intention to take legal action when Fletcher “continued to make defamatory statements” in the media.

In a July 2019 interview with the Winnipeg Free Press, Fletcher said it was “ironic” Kinnarath’s group, Fascist Free Treaty 1, was “doing exactly what fascists do… using severe bully tactics to prevent free and democratic activities.”

Reached by phone Tuesday, Fletcher said he stands by his comments.

“(Kinnarath’s) ire is misdirected, if it’s aimed at me,” he said. “I don’t see that I made any direct comments about this chap, other than pointing out that people need to listen and talk with each other, rather than make threats or threaten legal action.”

The allegations have not been proven in court.

dean.pritchard@freepress.mb.ca