Fredericton blogger jailed again over disturbance

Charles LeBlanc spent Wednesday night in a Saint John jail after being charged with causing a disturbance outside of the Fredericton Police headquarters.

Fredericton Police Const. Rick Mooney confirmed on Thursday morning that LeBlanc was arrested on a charge of causing a disturbance. LeBlanc will have a bail hearing on Sept. 16 at 9:30 a.m.

Mooney said the police received several noise complaints against LeBlanc. The blogger appeared before a Provincial Court judge on Wednesday and was sent to the Saint John jail.

LeBlanc recorded the start of his latest run-in with the police and posted it on YouTube. In the video, an officer tells LeBlanc that people nearby "can't hold board meetings and stuff because of the noise you're making with your bullhorn."

The blogger has been protesting a ticket he recieved for riding his bike on the sidewalk in Fredericton.

LeBlanc blames the ticket on Dan Bussieres, the sergeant-at-arms of the New Brunswick legislature. Bussieres banned LeBlanc from the legislature in 2006.

The Fredericton Police issued a ticket to LeBlanc on Tuesday for violating noise bylaws but the blogger told the police that he intended to keep on protesting.

LeBlanc was arrested on Wednesday for the noise violation, but Mooney would not discuss the earlier ticket for biking on the sidewalk.

LeBlanc is well-known in Fredericton for his blog on politics and social justice issues.

LeBlanc made international headlines in November 2006 when he was acquitted on an obstruction charge. He had been arrested when he was blogging coverage of a demonstration at the Atlantica business conference in Saint John in June 2006.