Legault evaluating police protection for candidate who was victim of threats
By The Canadian Press
Coalition Avenir Quebec Leader Francois Legault is considering whether to offer police protection to one of his candidates who recently received threats.
Legault says ex-Montreal police spokesman Ian Lafreniere needs to be protected. Election campaign-style posters with an image of Lafreniere with a bullet in his head were recently displayed at a junior college north of Montreal. The image originally surfaced in 2013 but its author is unknown.
A woman was found guilty in 2015 of criminal harassment for sharing the image online.
Lafreniere, who is running in the Montreal-area riding of Vachon, says in an interview he is evaluating the possibility of asking for police protection.
But he said Friday things are going well and that people want to talk about real issues. “I don’t want to be distracted by this,” he added.
Alain Aubuchon, head of student life at the junior college in Saint-Jerome, said the posters were immediately removed after they were discovered.
Legault said Lafreniere recently relinquished his service weapon when he decided to join the Coalition. “I think we will ensure he will be protected,” Legault told reporters.
