Rural homeowner not facing charges after taking down threatening yard display

A southeastern Manitoba man will not face charges for a Halloween display that depicted the hanging of municipal council members outside his home, RCMP confirmed Monday.

The display in the small community of Ste-Geneviève led to an investigation that concluded after the property owner removed the hanging figures Sunday.

“There will be no charges at this time,” Manitoba RCMP spokeswoman Cpl. Melanie Roussel wrote in an email to the Free Press.

Armand Poirier, mayor of the Rural Municipality of Taché, where Ste-Geneviève is located, said he was relieved when he learned the display was taken down.

“We’re very concerned about what happened,” he said. “I’m primarily concerned over the actions against our firefighters, who are people who give themselves 100 per cent selflessly, and our administrative staff. They’re all concerned about their safety.”

Taché’s council met Saturday to discuss its response to the display. The municipality issued a news release Monday, describing the display as inappropriate and threatening.

“Freedom of expression is a fundamental right, however it must never be used as a pretext to threaten, intimidate or incite violence against elected officials, emergency responders, government staff or residents within our communities,” the municipality said.

“A healthy democracy depends on mutual respect and on ensuring that all residents can participate in public debate in an environment free from threats and intimidation.”

The Free Press left a phone message seeking comment from the homeowner. The display appeared to stem from a dispute over a bill he received after Taché’s fire department responded to an open fire in his yard.

The display had five life-sized figures hanging from a gallows in a front yard. Four of the figures had different municipal ward numbers painted on — wards two, four, five and six. The figure in the middle had a crown and a dollar-sign necklace.

Each figure had a noose around its neck and a letter in neon green, spelling “karma.”

Next to the gallows, a figure in a firefighter uniform had a sign attached that read, “Taché Municipal Masters For Sale” and referenced the mayor, council and fire chief.

“Politics all tricks no treats” was displayed on a sign above the hanging figures.

Mannequin heads were in the grass near a piece of wood that had an axe embedded in it.

The display featured a depiction of Guy Fawkes, who was part of a foiled plot to blow up the Houses of Parliament in England on Nov. 5, 1605. Stylized masks of Fawkes have become a symbol of anti-establishment protest.

No-trespassing signs, declaring the property as “sovereign land,” were visible at the fenced property. Ste-Geneviève is about 40 kilometres southeast of Winnipeg.

Roussel said Steinbach RCMP began investigating after receiving two complaints last week.

The homeowner recorded a YouTube video while removing what he described as a “Halloween display, or protest,” on Sunday. Other videos showed the property being visited by two RCMP officers and journalists Friday.

“I’m here to, respectfully, ask if you’re willing to take them down or modify it,” an RCMP officer said in a video.

The homeowner suggested removing the ward numbers, which an officer agreed with.

“We’re not here to threaten you or anything like that, but it could be conveyed as a threat under the Criminal Code,” an officer said of the display.

In a separate video, the man tells a reporter the display stemmed from a bill he received from the municipality, after Taché’s volunteer fire department responded to a fire.

The man said the fire department’s response was not necessary. He described the display as a “theatrical statement.”

“Is it serious? Absolutely not. There would be no violence that would come from here,” he told the reporter. “I don’t have any weapons.”

The man recorded a video while he attended a September council meeting to appeal the invoice, which an official told him was $3,720. Wood and branches were burned in a pit in his yard, council heard.

Council denied the appeal and upheld the invoice.

Meeting minutes published on the municipality’s website said the fire department responded to a 911 call about a fire, which breached Taché’s burning bylaw, at a property in August 2024.

The minutes said firefighters responded to an open fire on the same property in 2021, when a burning ban was in effect, and afterward formal communication explained an invoice would be issued if the department responded to another fire that violated the bylaw.

Association of Manitoba Bilingual Municipalities president Ivan Normandeau said the display will have a lasting impact on Taché officials.

“The fact that it’s down is a good thing, but it’s still going to be in the back of your mind,” he said. “My hope would be that society can realize that this is not acceptable, and misinformation, especially via social media, is getting extreme.”

chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca