Canadian port of entry arrests anger Akwesasne dispensary supporters
AKWESASNE — Supporters of cannabis dispensaries that have been operating on Cornwall Island without licences issued by the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne (MCA) are fuming over arrests at the Cornwall border checkpoint since Friday.
People with connections to the dispensaries or the organizations running them have been detained by the Canada Border Services Agency when they attempted to cross through the checkpoint because of warrants for their arrest put out by the Akwesasne Mohawk Police Service. They were then turned over to police.
It’s a scenario unique to Akwesasne — since the port of entry moved to Cornwall following opposition to armed border officers in 2009, any resident or visitor to Cornwall Island must pass through the port of entry.
They must present ID at the primary screening post, and if the officer has reasonable grounds to do so, can be referred into secondary screening, even though they have not crossed an international border.
At least three people have been arrested this way at the border since March 7, with the most recent being Joshua Jacobs, who was arrested at the checkpoint on Monday after attempting to leave Cornwall Island.
Jacobs is the owner of one of the dispensaries that was raided for not having an MCA licence, AK420. It has been confirmed he was stopped at the checkpoint because of outstanding charges laid by the Mohawk police, although what those charges are was not released.
What happened next is also unclear.
A media release posted by the Cornwall police on Tuesday alleged they were called to the scene when Jacobs became unco-operative. Jacobs was taken into custody “after a brief struggle,†and was charged with resisting arrest and breaching probation for failing to keep the peace.
Jacobs’ wife, Fallon Jacobs, took to Facebook accusing the CBSA of beating her husband while he was in their custody.
An ambulance was reportedly called to the checkpoint on Monday, but the Cornwall police would not say if Jacobs had received any medical treatment.
“Unfortunately the Cornwall Police Service is unable to confirm or deny if the accused party was medically assessed. In the interest of privacy, it is not within our policies to disclose those details,†said Stephanie MacRae, police spokesperson.
Jacobs appeared in bail court on Tuesday and has been released.
The manner of Jacobs’ arrest is very similar to the arrests of Nick Kolbasook and Kawenniiosta Jock, who were also arrested last week at the Cornwall checkpoint because of a warrant put out for them by Mohawk police.
Jock is the daughter of Roger Jock, who is the Bear Clan representative at the Indian Way Longhouse, which owns and runs the other dispensary, Wild Flower. According to longhouse spokesman Charles Kader, Kolbasook does not have a direct connection to their dispensary other than the fact he runs in the same social circles as the young people who are employed there.
They were arrested and taken by Mohawk police to the RCMP headquarters in Cornwall to be fingerprinted. A week later, the charges against them have not been filed with the courthouse in Cornwall.
Charges against the two men who were arrested during the original raid on Wild Flower early last month have been filed in Cornwall court.
Terry Thomas and Jared Jock have been listed as co-accused and charged with possession of marijuana for the purposes of trafficking. Their next court date is scheduled for March 26 in Cornwall.
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