SASKATOON – “Are you afraid of me now?” asked Travis Patron, the leader of a far-right extremist group when cross-examining an RCMP Const. in Saskatoon Court of King’s Bench Tuesday.
“No, there are a bunch of sheriffs here,” answered the officer. “I’m not afraid.”
The officer – who had investigated and testified against Patron at his hate trial in September 2022 – told the court that he had feared for his safety and that of his girlfriend’s when Patron confronted them at Midtown Plaza in Saskatoon on July 20, 2023.
Patron, 31, has been in custody since his arrest Aug. 2, 2023. He is charged with harassment and impersonating a police officer in three separate incidents on July 20, July 29, and Aug. 1, 2023, in Saskatoon.
Court heard that on July 20, 2023, Patron followed the officer – who was off duty – and his girlfriend, in Midtown Plaza. Video evidence played in court showed Patron standing behind the couple going up the escalator and again going down the escalator. Another video showed Patron following them inside the mall without their knowledge. Patron confronted the officer at the mall saying, “Why are you with a Canadian woman?”
The officer was born in Iraq and came to Canada at age four, court heard.
Patron is representing himself in court and cross-examined the officer.
“Did Mr. Patron curse you?” Patron questioned him.
“No.”
“Did Mr. Patron threaten you by words?” asked Patron.
“No,” replied the officer. “It was the totality of the circumstances; the conversation, and given my knowledge of you I wanted to leave, given your history. Your questions were absurd. I don’t feel safe around you Travis.
“Your hate crime trial I testified against you. I don’t feel you should have approached me. I wasn’t in my uniform where I could protect myself.”
The officer testified that he was “respectful and cordial” to Patron in the mall to avoid “triggering” Patron.
“Your question was hurtful. You’re a member of an extreme racist group. I investigated you on that. The right-wing extremist National Party I believe is a racist group. That is what I believed after I investigated you.”
Patron continued his cross-examination of the officer and asked him if he was biased against Patron.
“No, Travis. I don’t care about you at all or anything you stand for.”
“Did you ban the accused from the Redvers library in September 2020?” questioned Patron.
“Yes,” replied the officer, adding that it was because Patron was printing propaganda material.
“Do you still hold Iraqi citizenship?” Patron questioned the officer.
“I’m a Canadian citizen. I don’t have an Iraqi passport.”
“You were born in Iraq,” said Patron.
“I’m a Canadian and also a Mountie,” replied the officer. “That’s pretty Canadian.”
In spite of Justice John Morrall cautioning Patron numerous times against the line of questioning that would reveal his own criminal history, Patron pushed the officer further asking why he feared for his safety.
Justice Morrall instructed the officer that he could answer the questions without fear.
The officer said it was because of his police officer perception, the aggravated assaults Patron had committed in the past, the arrests he himself made on Patron for breaching court conditions.
“All that in totality,” said the officer. “I know your background, the risk, the assaults causing bodily harm to others, particularly women. You were within arms-reach of her [my girlfriend]. I know what you are capable of … I felt unsafe for myself and unsafe for [my girlfriend].”
The officer told the court that he had called his detachment commander, who instructed him to file a report with Saskatoon Police Service.
“I am the leader of the Canadian National Party”: Patron
Escorted by sheriffs and wearing a bright orange jail-issue sweatshirt and green pants, Patron shuffled in his ankle shackles to the witness box to take the stand in his own defence.
He spoke for about 20 minutes referring to himself in both the third and first person.
“My actions at Midtown, I don’t believe would cause any person to fear for their safety. Video evidence speaks to my innocence. The accused did not chase anyone, did not use profanity or curse anyone. I talked to him with his permission, I spoke to them.”
Patron told the court he had to address the allegations against his character, that he was the leader of the Federal National Party.
“In my mind I still am the leader. Elections Canada made a mistake de-registering the party. I am the leader of the Canadian National Party and serving the national interest.
“I didn’t threaten anyone. I didn’t curse anyone. I have been arbitrarily imprisoned by the Government of Saskatchewan. I have been illegally transferred to different prisons in the province violating my security. I am upholding Canadian law.”
Interrupting the proceedings
Patron – who refused to stand when the judge or jury entered the courtroom – interrupted the court proceedings several times.
When the officer first took the stand, he objected to the witness on the grounds of a matter of “national security” and told the officer not to answer the Crown’s questions.
Justice Morrall overruled Patron’s objection.
Minutes later, Patron told the officer, “I advise you to remain silent in the interest of national security. You are disregarding my advice.”
Closing arguments
Closing arguments by Senior Crown Prosecutor Lana Mirelli will be heard on Wednesday. The judge will give his charge to the jury on Thursday.
Justice Morrall, however, gave a mid-trial charge to the jury of five women and seven men. He instructed the jury that Patron’s previous criminal history is irrelevant to the charges of criminal harassment and breach of conditions before the court. He said they should only consider the reasonableness of the officer's fear of Patron.
Patron’s other charges
After this trial, Patron has two more trials scheduled later this year for the other two incidents.
The first incident is alleged to have occurred on July 29, 2023. Saskatoon police were called to a hotel in the 600-block of Spadina Crescent about a disturbance involving a man impersonating a peace officer. Police say Patron approached a woman and her child, identified himself as a police officer, and accused her of abduction. The woman went into the hotel with her child to get help and Patron allegedly followed her inside and caused a disturbance. Bystanders intervened and Patron fled on foot, say Saskatoon police.
The second incident was on Aug. 1, 2023, in the 70-block of Campus Drive at the University of Saskatchewan. Police say they got a call that a man identified himself as a peace officer and offered to escort a woman on campus. The woman declined and the man left. The U of S released Patron’s photo and warned staff and students that he wasn’t to be on U of S property.
Police obtained video evidence and identified Patron as the suspect in both incidents.
Patron ran in the Souris-Moose Mountain constituency in the 2019 federal election, finishing sixth. The Canadian Nationalist Party has since been de-registered.
This report by SASKTODAY was first published Jan. 16, 2024.
-With files from David Willberg
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