Patron charged with impersonating police officer, harassment

Travis Patron is once again in trouble with the law.

The former leader of the Canadian Nationalist Party — who has been convicted on charges of wilfully promoting hate, assault and mischief over the past two years — now faces two counts each of impersonating a peace officer and failing to comply with court-imposed conditions, along with one count of criminal harassment.

The charges stem from two alleged incidents in Saskatoon.

Saskatoon police issued a media release about the charges Wednesday, shortly after the University of Saskatchewan sent out a memo saying Patron allegedly was trespassing on campus and impersonating staff.

In the release, police said officers were called Saturday at about 8:50 a.m., to a hotel in the 600 block of Spadina Crescent East for a report about a disturbance involving a man.

“Upon arriving, officers learned that a man had approached a woman and her child, identified himself as police, and accused her of abduction,” the release said. “The woman entered the hotel with her child to seek assistance while the man followed her inside causing a disturbance; bystanders quickly intervened and the man fled the area on foot.”

According to police, a similar incident occurred Monday at about 2 p.m., in the 70 block of Campus Drive. Police said in that incident, a man had “approached a woman, identified himself as a peace officer, and offered to escort her through the area.”

Police said the woman declined his offer and the man left.

The police release said video footage identified the suspect in both incidents, and the man subsequently was arrested in the 200 block of Fifth Avenue North on Wednesday.

Police didn’t identify the suspect in their release, but court documents say it’s Patron. He made his first court appearance Thursday morning.

In October, Patron was sentenced to one year behind bars for promoting hate in an online video. He was credited for time served, leaving him with 168 days left to serve on his sentence.

In August, he was handed an 18-month sentence on two counts of assault causing bodily harm. With credit for the time he spent on remand, Patron’s sentence amounted to one day on each charge, to be served concurrently.

And in 2021, Patron was convicted of charges including mischief for occupying the Royal Canadian Legion building in Redvers. He got 30 days in jail, but credit for his time on remand left him without any jail time.

Patron ran for the Canadian Nationalist Party — which has been criticized for its far-right stance and an ideology perceived by some as hateful and racist — in the 2019 federal election in the Souris-Moose Mountain riding. He finished last with 168 votes.