Jean-Philippe L. Ayotte, a peaceful protester caught in the legal crosshairs of Canada’s crackdown on the 2022 Freedom Convoy, remains ensnared in an increasingly alarming legal battle. Despite having no criminal record and engaging in no violent activity, Ayotte was brutally beaten by police, arrested, and charged with mischief—an ambiguous charge that has become a catch-all for persecuting political dissenters. Even more egregious, Ayotte has been denied a jury trial, a fundamental safeguard meant to ensure impartiality in politically sensitive cases.
His plight has sparked nationwide outrage, prompting supporters to launch a petition titled Demand for Jury – JP Ayotte, Peaceful Protester – Trucker Convoy 2022 Ottawa, which has since gained significant support. The case of Ayotte exposes an alarming erosion of civil liberties in Canada, where courts appear to be bending the law to serve political interests rather than justice.
Arrested and Beaten for Peaceful Protest
Ayotte was neither a trucker nor an organizer of the Freedom Convoy. He was simply present at the protest, engaging in lawful assembly. On February 23, 2022, while peacefully demonstrating and even shoveling snow near police officers to show goodwill, he was suddenly arrested and violently subdued by law enforcement.
“They beat me,” Ayotte revealed in an exclusive interview with RAIR Foundation. “Six to eight officers piled on top of me, pushing my face into the snow so I couldn’t breathe. I was terrified for my life, so I pretended to faint. That’s when they finally let up.”
The police violence against Ayotte was part of a broader crackdown, with many protesters subjected to excessive force, including being struck with rifle butts and trampled under mounted officers. […]
— Read More: rairfoundation.com
Independent Journalism Is Dying
Ever since President Trump’s miraculous victory, we’ve heard an incessant drumbeat about how legacy media is dying. This is true. The people have awakened to the reality that they’re being lied to by the self-proclaimed “Arbiters of Truth” for the sake of political expediency, corporate self-protection, and globalist ambitions.
But even as independent journalism rises to fill the void left by legacy media, there is still a huge challenge. Those at the top of independent media like Joe Rogan, Dan Bongino, and Tucker Carlson are thriving and rightly so. They have earned their audience and the financial rewards that come from it. They’ve taken risks and worked hard to get to where they are.
For “the rest of us,” legacy media and their proxies are making it exceptionally difficult to survive, let alone thrive. They still have a stranglehold over the “fact checkers” who have a dramatic impact on readership and viewership. YouTube, Facebook, and Google still stifle us. The freer speech platforms like Rumble and 𝕏 can only reward so many of their popular content creators. For independent journalists on the outside looking in, our only recourse is to rely on affiliates and sponsors.
But even as it seems nearly impossible to make a living, there are blessings that should not be disregarded. By highlighting strong sponsors who share our America First worldview, we have been able to make lifelong connections and even a bit of revenue to help us along. This is why we enjoy symbiotic relationships with companies like MyPillow, Jase Medical, and Promised Grounds. We help them with our recommendations and they reward us with money when our audience buys from them.
The same can be said about our preparedness sponsor, Prepper All-Naturals. Their long-term storage beef has a 25-year shelf life and is made with one ingredient: All-American Beef.
Even our faith-driven precious metals sponsor helps us tremendously while also helping Americans protect their life’s savings. We are blessed to work with them.
Independent media is the future. In many ways, that future is already here. While the phrase, “the more the merrier,” does not apply to this business because there are still some bad actors in the independent media field, there are many great ones that do not get nearly enough attention. We hope to change that one content creator at a time.
Thank you and God Bless,
JD Rucker
