Two Tiny House Warriors standing trial, accused of interfering with work crews in North Thompson

Photo: Kanahus Manuel / Twitter

Kanahus Manuel

Two Tiny House Warriors members are standing trial this week in Kamloops provincial court accused of interfering with work crews near Blue River more than two years ago.

Kanahus Manuel and Isha Jules are standing trial on charges of mischief, accused of harassing a crew of road workers north of Blue River on Oct. 19, 2019.

According to the Crown, Dawson Construction sent a crew to the area to repair a damaged stretch of highway. Once there, court heard, the crew was approached by three people — two women and a man.

“The group approached the workers and started following the workers and shouting at them [using] big traffic cones,” Crown prosecutor Sheron O’Connor said Monday in a brief opening statement.

“It’s possible the individuals were there to protest a pipeline, but the road crew workers stated they were not with the pipeline, they were with road repair.”

O’Connor said the crew had to leave the area and the job was not completed on the day it was supposed to have taken place.

The Tiny House Warriors is a First Nations protest group opposed to the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project.

The trial is expected to conclude on Tuesday.

Defence lawyer Joe Killoran said Monday he will argue to have the charge against Jules thrown out due to delay. A date for that hearing has not yet been set.