Convoy organizer, Les Farfadaas member from Quebec appears in court

UPDATE: Steeve Charland appeared in court Tuesday and was given 24 hours to determine whether he wants to represent himself or have a lawyer present ahead of an upcoming bail hearing. 

Another leader of the so-called Freedom Convoy, Steeve Charland, had his first court appearance Tuesday after he was arrested over the weekend.

Steeve Charland, 48, was arrested Sunday morning in the Vankleek Hill area by Ontario Provincial Police officers. 

He was charged with mischief and counselling to commit mischief and, according to Ottawa police, remained in custody until his Tuesday court appearance.

From Grenville, Que., Charland is known as a spokesman for Les Farfadaas, a Quebec group formed to protest against public health measures. That group was formed from La Meute, regarded by experts to be a far right, anti-Islam and anti-immigration group.

Charland from known far-right group in Quebec

Charland previously held a senior position within La Meute, a group that maintains an active social media presence, promoting itself online to be campaigning for the defence of freedom of expression and democracy, as well as promoting secularism. 

People wearing Les Farfadaas patches and leather jackets could often be found around the protest site during the three-week occupation of Ottawa.

The group was also responsible for occupying a parking lot in the Hull sector of downtown Gatineau, Que., not far from the primary demonstration site in Ottawa.

After being forced to leave those premises by a court, they moved to the parking lot of the Notre-Dame-du-Très-Saint-Rosaire church in Gatineau before leaving 24 hours later via a police escort.