OTTAWA (LifeSiteNews) – Veteran of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) James Topp, who walked across Canada to protest the injustice of government COVID mandates, is facing a court martial for speaking against vaccine mandates while in uniform.
According to The Canadian Press, Topp will have his case heard by a military court following being charged with two counts of conduct to the prejudice of good order and discipline after he criticized COVID-19 jab mandates while in uniform.
“It’s hard to know what they’re doing, because I don’t think they really know what they’re doing,” said Topp’s lawyer Phillip Millar. “But now they’re saying it’s a court martial.”
When he was first charged in February, Topp was offered a court martial only to have his case sent directly to his unit commanders as a summary trial. However, the Canadian military has apparently changed its decision again, allowing him to have his case in a military court.
READ: 70-year-old joins Canadian veteran in march to Ottawa protesting COVID mandates
A court martial could mean more severe penalties, including dismissal from the military with disgrace and up to two years in prison. However, it will also mean Topp can have legal representation at trial, and his case will receive increased media coverage.
“It opens the door for us to call witnesses about the decision to charge him,” Millar said. “It opens the door for us to call experts on whether or not there was any science behind the mandate.”
Inspired by the Freedom Convoy, Topp became a symbol of Canadian freedom as he trekked 2670 miles from Vancouver to Ottawa to protest for freedom. He arrived in Canada this past weekend, stopping at the city’s Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
“We have freedom here, but it is slowly being syphoned away,” said Topp. “But we are going to do something about it!”
READ: Ottawa Police violently arrest Canadians at freedom rally on the eve of Canada Day
Canada has long suffered under some of the most draconian mandates related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Canadian public registered its profound disapproval of Trudeau’s tyrannical polices when truckers from across the nation braved frigid temperatures and hazardous conditions to drive to Ottawa to protest the mandates in the Freedom Convoy earlier this year.
Hours after Topp arrived in Ottawa, where he was joined by hundreds of supporters, the city’s police descended on rally attendees, making violent arrests.
Video footage showed dozens of police officers clashing with protesters, with at least three civilians being violently pinned to the ground.
At least one officer held a man’s face and neck to the ground as another officer punched his body. The man in the video can be seen and heard crying out in pain as at least three other officers take part in holding him down.