A St. Thomas man, whose trial for throwing gravel at Canada's prime minister was to begin Tuesday, instead pleaded guilty to the offence.
Court officials, lawyers, witnesses, and spectators had gathered at the London courthouse for the trial, but following a short morning recess Shane Marshall surprised them by entering a guilty plea for assault. The 26-year-old had originally been charged with assault with a weapon in relation to the September 6, 2021 incident.
Marshall's lawyer had been pushing to have the Prime Minister address the court as part of the proceedings - a move the judge denied on the grounds of Parliamentary privilege.
"[My client's] chances of properly explaining himself and defending himself were really relying on having that statement," Defence Lawyer Luke Riedy said outside of the courthouse on Tuesday. "However, the evidence that is before the court is compelling. There was strong evidence that the Crown was intending to lead. Because our rights had been limited in our ability to question the Prime Minister, we had discussions and looked at the potential consequences."
That led Marshall to plead guilty to common assault.
"All I can say is that they were a limitation of the potential peril that [Marshall] would be facing, specifically incarceration," Riedy said when asked about potential sentencing agreements. "What the crown would be looking for would be limited."
Trudeau had been in town for a Liberal campaign whistle stop at London Co-Operative Brewing Company on Princess Avenue when someone pelted him with a handful of gravel. He looked startled for a moment, briefly glanced over his shoulder at the crowd, then boarded the bus. Trudeau was not hurt.
Marshall, a former official with the Elgin Middlesex London People’s Party of Canada (PPC) riding association, was arrested and charged five days later.
Marshall declined to comment as he left the courthouse following his guilt plea. Riedy offered no comment when asked whether Marshall is still active within the PPC.
In a statement of facts read by the Crown Tuesday, the court heard Marshall picked up the gravel from a driveway and threw it at Trudeau. This was caught on video and witnessed by several people. The gravel not only hit Trudeau, but also members of his team and supporters, the Crown said. The agreed-upon facts also stated, police used a mugshot from St. Thomas police to help identify Marshall in videos of the incident.
After the plea was entered, Riedy told reporters he believed Trudeau took advantage of what had happened to bolster his chances of re-election.
People supporting Shane Marshall, the man who pleaded guilty to throwing gravel at Prime Miister Justin Trudeau during the 2021 election, hold signs outside of the London court house. (Craig Needles, Blackburn Media)
"This incident became a focal point in his political campaign. He used it to associate our client with a political movement, which [Trudeau] also associated with misogynists and racists," Riedy said.
Protesters who appeared to be friends of Marshall's sat inside the courtroom and rallied outside of the courthouse before court began for the day. They carried anti-Trudeau flags and signs that were confiscated by courthouse personnel when they went inside the building.
"What [the Crown] was going to do was have people get up on the stand and say the Prime Minister was hit by stones. How is it fair to have a witness who is not sure if the Prime Minister was hit by stones say he definitely was, when in the Prime Minister's own first statement he provided, he was unsure whether or not he was hit?" Riedy added when pressed on why it was important for Trudeau to answer questions at the trial. "At a minimum, the accused should have been allowed to question why someone changed their story."
A pre-sentence report has been ordered and a sentencing hearing for Marshall has been set for May 1.
"In similar cases, when a person without a criminal record, when a person has done something of equal severity, probation wouldn't be out of the question," said Riedy, who also believes it's "likely" that Marshall will avoid jail time.
Riedy offered no comment when asked why St. Thomas police had Marshall's mugshot.