Trial begins for Wet'suwet'en hereditary chief accused of blocking Coastal GasLink pipeline

The trial of a Wet’suwet’en hereditary chief charged with criminal contempt for allegedly blocking construction on the Coastal GasLink pipeline opened Monday in B.C. Supreme Court in Smithers in northern B.C.

The Crown alleges Chief Dtsa’hyl (Adam Gagnon), who is being tried by judge alone, seized and decommissioned pieces of Coastal GasLink’s heavy equipment, publicly defying a court injunction to stay away from pipeline construction. 

His lawyer told the court that Wet’suwet’en matriarchs were present in the courtroom and that several Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs would be called later as witnesses for the defence. 

In an agreed statement of fact, the court heard Dtsa”hyl was arrested in October 2021 while driving a red truck on a remote road near an

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