Pair accused of anti-mask protest at Strang's house released on bail

Two people accused of organizing a protest at the home of Nova Scotia's chief medical officer of health have been released from jail after spending a night behind bars.

Jeremy Mitchell MacKenzie, 36, and Morgan May Guptill, 31, appeared in Dartmouth provincial court separately by video link Friday afternoon.

The Crown had initially been opposed to releasing the pair, but was able to negotiate terms with defence lawyer Stan MacDonald, who represents both accused.

Both MacKenzie and Guptill will stay at the MacKenzie family home in Pictou, N.S., until their next court appearance in April.

Released under conditions

The release conditions are the same for each accused:

• They must stay away from Dr. Robert Strang and his family, including the suburban Halifax residence where they're accused of staging a protest last weekend.

• They must stay 25 metres away from any home, school or business of any medical professional, educational professional or politician.

• They are not to counsel anyone else to protest against people in those three categories, and they must not make any posts about them on social media.

• Each accused must guarantee their compliance with a $10,000 surety. They must each commit $5,000 and the MacKenzie family will guarantee the other half.

MacKenzie and Guptill are each charged with several offences, including mischief, criminal harassment and a new charge that was introduced during the pandemic, that of intimidation of a health professional.