OTTAWA (Reuters) – A Canadian man who drove with five loaded firearms through the gates of the wooded estate where Prime Minister Justin Trudeau lives, planning to confront the leader, was sentenced to six years in prison on Wednesday.
Corey Hurren, 46, pleaded guilty last month to eight charges related to the July incident at the Ottawa estate that includes the prime minister’s residence, Rideau Cottage. The most serious charges were for possession of illegal firearms.
Ontario Court Justice Robert Wadden gave Hurren a six-year prison sentence with a credit for one year of time served, and banned him from owning firearms for life, according to the hearing, which was broadcast online.
“He has not expressed remorse for his actions,” Wadden said.
Hurren, who had two handguns, two shotguns and a semi-automatic rifle, rammed a gate to the 88-acre (0.35 square km) estate where the prime minister lives with his family, and then proceeded on foot toward the residence.
Trudeau and his family were not at home. After a 90-minute standoff, police convinced Hurren to surrender.
Hurren, a master corporal in an army reserve unit that serves in remote areas of the country, had driven more than 1,900 kilometers (1,200 miles) from his home in the province of Manitoba to confront Trudeau because he was angry over COVID-19 restrictions and a federal ban on assault-style firearms.
“This was an armed aggression against the government, which must be denounced in the strongest terms,” Wadden said.
The sentencing was in line with the request from the Crown prosecutor, and double that sought by Michael Davies, Hurren’s lawyer.
When he abandoned his truck, Hurren left a note saying he hoped his actions would be a “wake up call and a turning point” for the country.
(Reporting by Steve Scherer and Julie Gordon in Ottawa; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
