NEWS FILE PHOTO The Medicine Hat Provincial Court is seen in this file photo.
A Medicine Hat man accused of willfully promoting hatred could be sentenced next week unless he comes through on his vow to attempt a change of plea.
Loki Hulgaard entered a guilty plea in late February to the charge that he dispersed anti-Jewish material in 2018, but within a week fired his lawyer and publicly vowed to apply to vacate his plea.
That hasn’t yet officially happened, and on Thursday in Medicine Hat Provincial Court a sentencing date of Oct. 22 was restated.
There has been some confusion about the state of the affair considering the general slowdown of court activity in the spring and summer. As well, a hearing in late October resulted in an adjournment until Thursday for the stated purposed of setting a trial date.
An application to withdraw a plea can only be made in front of the judge that originally heard the plea.
The Crown prosecutor’s office has not returned calls to the News requesting a more detailed explanation. Hulgaard is believed to be acting as his own attorney, and was unreachable.
Hulgaard was arrested in September 2018 after police say currency stamped with anti-semitic slogans was passed at a grocery store on the Southeast Hill. A search of his residence turned up three rifles with serial numbers removed, as well as over-capacity magazines and ammunition.
In February, Hulgaard pleaded guilty to one charge of willfully promoting hatred against an identifiable group, an indictable offence that carries with it a maximum sentence of two years in prison. As well he pleaded guilty to one count of contravening firearms licensing regulations, a non-criminal offence, while other gun-related charges were apparently stayed.
Hulgaard, whose original name is Brendan Stanley Dell, was also charged and pled guilty to not updating his firearms licence, a non-criminal offence, when he changed his name in 2013.
He argued in a related hearing that he was preparing for a race war that he believed would occur in 2024.
