TORONTO – Six people accused of orchestrating last year’s G20 riots pleaded guilty Tuesday to counselling mischief, while another 11 saw their charges dropped.
Alex Hundert, Leah Henderson, Amanda Hiscocks, Peter Hopperton, Erik Lankin and Adam Lewis were initially charged with conspiracy to commit an indictable offence.
Hundert and Hiscocks also pleaded guilty to counselling to obstruct police.
The Crown has recommended sentences ranging from three to 16 months.
The group broke out in cheers in court as the 17-month long legal battle came to an end Tuesday morning.
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But in a statement released shortly afterward, they lashed out at a system they said has been used as a political tool.
“This alleged conspiracy is absurd,” the statement read. “We were never all part of any one group, we didn’t all organize together, and our political backgrounds are all different.”
“The legal system is and always has been a political tool used against groups deemed undesirable or who refuse to co-operate with the state.”
Outside court, lawyer Peter Rosenthal said the group should never have been charged.
“There was a huge amount of resources, we know there were a huge number of charges laid against G20 protesters, very few of them were proceeded with, most were withdrawn,” he told reporters.
“It was an absurd exercise of government power, in my view,” said Rosenthal, whose client, Patrick Cadorette, was among the 11 who walked free.
A statement of fact read in court noted that none of the accused took part in the June 2010 riots that saw windows and storefronts smashed in the city’s downtown and police cars set ablaze.
It also said there was no way to prove that the people responsible for the damage had been encouraged by the accused.
Roughly 1,100 people were arrested in massive police sweeps during the G20 summit.
More than 300 were charged. About 200 charges have since been withdrawn.
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