(NEXSTAR) – A one-time candidate for mayor of Calgary, Alberta was arrested Tuesday after trying to flee Canadian officials and escape into Montana on foot, police said.
U.S. Border Patrol agents took Kevin J. Johnston into custody at the Saskatchewan-Montana border Tuesday morning, according to CTV News. He was being held in the Montana town of Plentywood as authorities arranged his return to Canada.
Johnston, who mounted an unsuccessful, fringe political run in 2021, failed to show up for the last weekend of a 40-day intermittent jail sentence for contempt. Infamous for his pandemic-denial rhetoric, Johnston was found guilty of inciting supporters to reject Alberta’s public health measures, according to the CBC.
Johnston also faces a separate 18-month sentence for violating a 2019 court order not to defame businessman and restaurateur Mohamad Fakih. Johnston had labeled Fakih a “terrorist” and “baby killer,” attacking him in racist videos posted to his website as early as 2017.
That sentence was set to start Tuesday after he finished the first sentence.
Johnston also has a court date scheduled for Jan. 19 to face an assault charge, CTV News reports. Johnston was recorded while allegedly confronting a British Columbia grocery store manager after he tried to make a purchase without a face covering.
