An arrest warrant has been issued for a man who is accused of assaulting a counter-protester at one of Vernon’s weekly anti-COVID rallies last fall.
Kelsey Tomas Mitchell Moffatt is charged with a single count of assault causing bodily harm following an incident alleged to have occurred on Oct. 1, 2022.
According to court records, Moffatt was scheduled to appear in court Thursday, Feb. 23. However, an arrest warrant was issued after he failed to attend court, confirmed Dan McLaughlin, communicatins counsel with the BC Prosecution Service.
The charge is related to an altercation that took place at one of the rallies that have been staged every Saturday at the corner of Polson Park ever since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. People at the rallies decry COVID-19 mandates while claiming the vaccines do harm — except for Korry Zepik, who regularly counter-protests at the rallies, armed with an airhorn and a sign that reads “COVID is not a plot.”
Zepik was left bruised and bloodied by the alleged assault.
Around the time of the alleged assault, Zepik told The Morning Star he was pushed into traffic multiple times and someone vandalized his sign before the altercation with a protesters ensued.
He explained that someone was about to spray paint the sign he was holding but he grabbed the man’s hand to stop him. The two ended up falling into a lane of traffic.
“He took his hand on the left side of my head and smashed my right side of my head onto the pavement,” said Zepik. “Then he started hitting me.”
Police said at the time that a 52-year-old man was arrested for assault following the altercation, and he was released with a pending court date.
Zepik returned to the rally the following week with no incident, and the rallies have been peaceful ever since.
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