A Kelowna woman who is accused of creating a disturbance at an informal 2021 Remembrance Day event has finally entered a plea related to the incident.
The BC Prosecution Service said Linda Jackson entered a not guilty plea to the charge of disturbing order or solemnity of a meeting Monday. She’s now scheduled for a pretrial conference on May 1.
It was a long road to entering that plea, and one that Jackson was told on at least two occasions by Judge Andrew Tam she’d have to do sooner than later.
Jackson, who was charged on April 12, 2022, has been representing herself in the matter. Until Monday, she had delayed entering a plea, telling the court she was going to abstain from entering a plea until she received video footage of the Nov. 11, 2021, Remembrance Day melee from media organizations who were present.
She’s since received footage from the two organizations, clearing the way for the next step of the trial.
Jackson is accused of being one of several anti-COVID mandate protesters who gathered at the cenotaph in City Park on that morning and interrupted the gathering.
During the press conference where the charge against Jackson was announced, Insp. Adam MacIntosh said, “Kelowna RCMP officers support a person or group’s right to protest, but, when they choose to willfully interrupt the assembly of citizens at a Remembrance Day ceremony, this is a step too far.”
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