Former UCP MLA Derek Fildebrandt facing criminal charges, accused of threatening teens
CBC
Former Alberta UCP MLA Derek Fildebrandt faces criminal charges, accused of threatening a group of teenagers, CBC News has learned.
Fildebrandt, 38, who is now the publisher of the Western Standard news website, faces four charges of uttering threats to cause death or bodily harm, according to court documents.
According to police, just before 9 p.m. on April 13, 2024, four teens ages 13 and 14 were walking to a nearby convenience store.
They stopped outside Fildebrandt's southwest Calgary home to wait for a friend.
Fildebrandt then approached the teens.
"He believed they were responsible for vandalizing his property," according to a statement from the Calgary Police Service.
"When confronted, the boys fled and the man allegedly chased them in his vehicle and threatened them."
A neighbour intervened and Fildebrandt returned to his home, police said.
Fildebrandt has hired defence lawyer Alain Hepner, who said his client was injured, "limping and using a cane."
"The facts are very much exaggerated, and context of the events will be very significant at the trial," said Hepner.
After the news broke Monday, Fildebrandt posted a 500-word statement to the Western Standard site.
According to Fildebrandt, the teens "concocted a story" in order "to avoid the consequences of vandalizing [his] property."
Fildebrandt says he simply shouted at them to "stay off my property" and then called Calgary police in hopes officers would give the boys "a talking to."
But the boys, says Fildebrandt, claimed he had threatened and chased them with a shotgun.
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