10 months later, criminal charges laid against man arrested at Wet'suwet'en barricade

More than 10 months after theRCMP enforcement of an interim injunction in Wet'suwet'en territory related to the Coastal GasLink pipeline, criminal charges have been laid against aPrince George, B.C., man arrested at the barricade.

Joseph Choken, 27, was among the 14 people arrested on Jan. 7 afterpolicecame to enforce an interim injunction against some Wet'suwet'en and their supporters who'd barricaded themselves in a camp built on the nation's traditional territory near Houston, B.C.

Wet'suwet'enmembershad set upcheckpoints on a remote stretch of forest service road and a bridge preventing people working on a pipeline project from accessing their traditionalterritory, which sits about 300 kilometres west of Prince George, B.C.

The CoastalGasLinkproject is run by TC Energyand is meant to move natural gas from northeastern B.C. to the coast, where a liquefied natural gas project is scheduled for construction.The court injunctionordered people to stop preventing CoastalGasLinkfrom gaining access to theroad and bridge.

On Nov. 20,two criminal charges were swornagainst Choken:one for assaulting a peace officer and another for wilfully resisting or obstructing a peace officer.

An RCMP spokesperson saidit's alleged that during the enforcement actions on Jan. 7 Choken "attempted to push an officer from a box he was standing on, and other officers while they were attempting to use a ladder to cross a barricade erected on a one-lane bridge."

Video of the events on Jan. 7 showsChoken among several people at the barricade as police were making their way over the gate.Video also shows he was among the first people arrestedafter the police came over the gate.

RCMP make first arrests at Gidimt'en camp

6 years ago

Duration 1:42

RCMP officers climb over a barricade and start making arrests to enforce the Coastal GasLink injunction at the Gidimt'en camp in northern B.C. on Jan. 7, 2019.

RCMP said that after his arrest and before being taken into custody "Mr. Choken allegedly resisted."

In the days following the arrests Gidimt'en spokesperson Molly Wickhamand other Wet'suwet'en leadership alleged police used inappropriate force during the arrests.

Most of the people arrested werereleased the following day.

The B.C. Prosecution Service wouldn't comment on why 10 months passed before charges were sworn against Choken.The service said it could not speak about the case because it's now before the court.

Chokentold CBC News he wasn't prepared to speak publicly about the charges.

Choken's first appearance is scheduled for Jan. 13, 2020 in Houston, B.C.