Bill Whatcott surrounded by 25 or so supporters as he speaks to a Calgary Police officer moments before being arrested.

Anti-LGBTQ activist appears at Stampede parade two weeks after turning himself in
By MADELINE SMITH
StarMetro Calgary
Fri., July 6, 2018
https://www.thestar.com/calgary/2018/07 … lf-in.html

CALGARY—An anti-LGBTQ activist who turned himself in on a Canada-wide warrant in Calgary two weeks ago appeared Friday with protest signs at the Stampede parade.

William Whatcott surrendered to Calgary police on June 22 for charges of wilful promotion of hatred, which stemmed from accusations of distributing 3,000 pamphlets to attendees at Pride Toronto’s 2016 parade that contained what Toronto police call “hateful” content. At the time of his arrest, he said he regretted nothing and had “absolutely no apologies to make.”

On Friday, Whatcott was equally unapologetic.

“I haven’t changed my mind on very much,” he said.

He said he plans to stay in Calgary for “at least a little while.”

Video and photos on Whatcott’s Facebook page show him holding signs, one that references “homosexuals” and Muslims. In one of the videos, two people confront Whatcott as he says, “We’ve got a right to preach.”

Whatcott said he was in Calgary police custody for one night and spent one further night in the Calgary Remand Centre before he was taken to Toronto, where he was in jail for two days before his bail hearing. He came back to Alberta shortly after his release.

He said the Stampede protest did not violate any of his bail conditions, which include not replicating the pamphlet his hate-related charges stemmed from, informing police of any address changes and staying at least 500 metres away from any Pride parade.

Neither Calgary nor Toronto police could confirm what conditions he had to follow.

Whatcott’s next court date is July 23 in Toronto, but his lawyer Charles Lugosi said Whatcott would likely not have to appear in person until the trial begins.

Lugosi said Toronto-based lawyer Daniel Santoro represented Whatcott at his most recent court appearance.