'I was unhinged': Man accused of driving at Victoria protester was angry but not trying to hit anyone

Christopher Sura Johnson, 40, took the stand Thursday to tell the court what led to the Dec. 3, 2023, incident, which was captured on video and shared on social media

Published Oct 18, 2024  •  4 minute read

The provincial courthouse on Burdett Avenue in Victoria. Photo by TIMES COLONIST FILE PHOTO

A man on trial for dangerous driving and assault with a weapon at a pro-Palestine rally last December described himself as “unhinged” when he made a sharp left turn onto the sidewalk next to the B.C. legislature grounds, causing a man to have to sprint out of his path.

Christopher Sura Johnson, 40, took the stand Thursday at his judge-alone trial to tell the court what led to the Dec. 3, 2023, incident, which was captured on video and shared on social media.

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He said he had no intention of striking anyone with his car but described having tunnel vision when he accelerated quickly onto the sidewalk, before coming to a halt when metal bollards blocked his path.

“You focus on one thing and all the other stuff’s not important,” he testified.

Johnson said he was driving to meet a friend at the Hotel Grand Pacific in James Bay to use the hotel’s hot tub, sauna and steam room.

He was unaware of a Palestinian solidarity protest taking place in front of the legislature, but as he drove south on Menzies Street, next to the legislature grounds, he saw a van with a sign that read “Free Palestine.”

Johnson testified he starting “lipping them off,” and told them it was “a pile of crap they were representing.” When another man, Ali Abou Said, spoke to him, Johnson said he switched focus to that man.

He saw a man wearing a reflective vest with a small flag in the middle of the road making eye contact with him, and that’s when Johnson decided to make a hard left turn toward the legislature grounds, he testified.

“Because I was upset, I was a little heavy on the acceleration,” he said.

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Videos played in court show Johnson turning left suddenly from Menzies Street onto the sidewalk, forcing the man in a reflective vest, Omar Babili, to run out of the way.

The sidewalk slopes down to the road to create a ramp onto the legislature grounds, which is blocked by metal bollards that can be lowered in special circumstances.

“Were you trying to hit him?” Johnson’s defence lawyer, Peter Firestone, asked.

“One hundred per cent not,” Johnson said.

“What was your focus?” Firestone asked.

“To get out and tell Abou Said what was what,” he responded.

Firestone said to find Johnson guilty, Justice Gareth Morley has to be satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that Johnson had the necessary intent for the charges.

Johnson’s actions amount to “mere negligence,” but are not criminal, he argued.

Crown prosecutor Tim Stokes suggested in cross-examination that Johnson was angry at people rallying for Palestinian independence.

Johnson, who was at times incoherent, didn’t directly agree, but gave various reasons why he was angry, including “what the Gazas [sic] did to the people at the Nova festival,” “children in ovens” and his own love life.

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“Was I angry? I’ve been angry since I was six years old, sir,” Johnson said.

He said he “wanted them to know it’s a pile of crap, because [Palestine is] not a real place. I mean look at a map,” and that he wanted to “make a lesson out of a poor situation.”

Stokes suggested he was upset because the rally presented a point of view he disagreed with.

“Was I upset with the rally? Was I upset with Abou Said? Was I upset with free Palestine? I know where they get their Kalashnikovs and I know all that crap. Free Palestine, what does that even mean?” he responded.

“I was unhinged because I just thought what’s the worst that can happen?”

Nicholas Ross, a special constable with the legislative assembly protective services, testified earlier Thursday that he was on the legislature grounds when he saw a grey sedan in the southbound lane of Menzies Street.

The driver was leaning out of his open window and in “a yelling match” with a few people on the lawn.

The vehicle suddenly accelerated, causing Babili, who testified Wednesday, to lunge out of the way.

“It was close enough that it really caused me concern,” Ross testified.

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The vehicle came to a stop about a metre from the anchored metal bollards and Ross said he heard the driver yell: “You’re all terrorists. You can see what I can do.”

Stokes suggested Johnson knew his driving was dangerous and he wanted those he was arguing with to know he had almost hurt them.

“You boasted, see what I did just there. You were proud of what you did, correct?”

Johnson initially said he wasn’t proud, but added: “I was proud of the fact I was helping them to have some empathy for those Jews they were taught to hate maybe since they were babies.”

Crown and defence were expected to give their closing submissions Friday.

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