Hatter pleads not guilty to charge of promoting hatred

By Jeremy Appel on October 9, 2019.

jappel@medicinehatnews.com
@MHNJeremyAppel

Loki Hulgaard, the Medicine Hat man accused of wilfully promoting hatred and several firearm offences, has pled not guilty to all charges against him. 

Hulgaard and defence lawyer Mike Gilchrist entered the pleas Wednesday at Medicine Hat Provincial Court, electing for a trial by judge alone in provincial court. 

Gilchrist told court he’s in the process of establishing a pre-trial conference through the trial co-ordinator, who’s based in Lethbridge. 

The Crown estimates this process should take about two weeks. 

Hulgaard’s next appearance is scheduled for Oct. 30, where a trial date will likely be set. 

The accused was arrested in August 2018 after attempting to spend currency with anti-Semitic slogans, such as “ZOG” (Zionist Occupied Government) and  “Jewish White Genocide,” printed on it at local grocery store. 

Upon searching his residence, police found four guns – two of which had their serial numbers scratched off – three over-capacity magazines and 1,200 rounds of ammunition, as well as hate literature and a personal manifesto. 

Hulgaard attempted to appeal the firearm ban that resulted from his arrest, which was quashed by Judge Eric Brooks in December 2018. 

He represented himself at the hearing, where he testified he was stockpiling weapons for an impending post-apocalyptic race war, referring to “false flag shootings to justify taking guns away from people” in the U.S. 

Hulgaard is out on a $4,000 no-cash bail. 

He faces charges of wilfully promoting hatred, two of possessing a firearm with the serial number removed, four of unsafe storage of a firearm, three of possessing a prohibited device and four of unauthorized possession of a firearm, as well as a breach of recognize for failing to report to the police station in July. 

A conviction for wilfully promoting hatred carries a maximum sentence of two years imprisonment. 

14
-13