Meteghan RCMP said they have laid charges in relation to the assault of Chief Michael Sack that occurred on Oct. 14 in New Edinburgh.
RCMP said they have charged 46-year-old Chris Gerald Melanson of Digby County with assault.
Melanson was arrested Friday evening and and has been released from custody on conditions. He is scheduled to appear in Digby provincial court on Dec. 21 at 9:30.
READ MORE: ‘Terrorizing our people’: N.S. Mi’kmaw fishers have property vandalized, lobsters destroyed
Chief Michael Sack of Sipekne’katik First Nation alleged the facility in New Edinburgh was “swarmed and vandalized” by commercial fishermen on Tuesday afternoon.
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Sack claimed the crowd of commercial fishers, estimated to be approximately 200 people by RCMP, removed and damaged video cameras at the facility and ransacked the lobster pound and storage facility where the lobster catch was to be housed.
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At one point a van was lit on fire. Video taken at the scene and posted on Facebook show RCMP officers rushing to put it out.
The incidents occurred after a protest by the commercial fishers in nearby Digby, N.S.
“This act of vigilantism now affects Sipekne’katik’s ability to sell its licensed fishery lobster to promote prosperity within our community and is a direct attempt to force us out of the very market we have been a part of for years,” Sack said in a press release on Oct. 14.
The RCMP said the investigation is ongoing.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Meteghan RCMP at 902-645-2326 or call Nova Scotia Crime Stoppers.
-With files from Karla Renic and Alexander Quon
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