Police have questioned and released a few individuals ,including former president of the Concerned Citizens Movement Loftus Durand, from a southern community on allegations of conspiracy to overthrow a lawfully elected government.
The men were taken into custody after a video made the rounds on social media where it is alleged that certain comments were made.
Ronald Charles one of the lawyers representing one or more of the accused spoke to the media on the matter.
“Well basically, the Police are carrying out their investigations concerning some young gentlemen from the Newtown area, alleging conspiracy as it relates to basically trying to overthrow or incite people to overthrow the sitting constitutionally elected government or words to that effect. So that is the issue surrounding the investigations. They have been released pending further investigations and the police are also looking for a few others related to this matter.”
“As far as I have seen allegedly, I have seen about four to five young persons. So that is what I have seen so far. Loftus Durand, who is being represented by Cara Shillingford, is one of the individuals,” Charles told reporters.
“I have spoken to the Superintendent Davidson Valerie as it relates to my clients and he is basically going through the interview process then released pending further investigations,” he added.
Meantime, Loftus Durand who was also detained and released stated that police showed him a warrant to search his home for a “12 gauge shot gun.”
“I don’t know where that came out, I brought them to my home and all went well, it was done in a civilized way and I want to compliment them,” he said.
He continued, “We went back to the Police Headquarters and I was met by my lawyers, Cara Shillingford, Ronald Charles and they ask questions and I answered some of them and didn’t for others.”
Durand said he was not charged, was released and told the investigation is ongoing.
I saw my so called Basketball President in a video. Very disappointed. One reason why we cannot get out of that hole we are there in and now sinking deeper. Keep you private matters out of basketball, or rather get out, We don’t need you, especially right now.
‘To overthrow a legally elected government’. I stopped at this point.
I thought journalists and media in extension were meant to be non-biased?
December 6th, 2019 was NOT a ‘legally elected government’. Bringing in thousands to vote in communities from the diaspora, when they don’t even reside in Dominica, and going to vote more than twice in communities, is not ‘legal’.
Only in a backward island like Dominica that this can and will continue to happen.
little girls we have at the police station and in the government building man? The dumbness of it all man. If they really watched the video and had ANY kind of civilized sense they would have heard them say through legal measures. Loftus just came from a training in the US to deal with matters of this nature, why would he openly involve himself in any illegal opposition faction. I dont know but these policemen we have these days lack basic comprehension and have emotional issues. calm down man. A good police force or unit would have not acted so prematurely. You continue to watch these people of interest. Do surveillance, investigate. Ask questions. Arresting anyone does nothing, because from what i know, if them man decide they bombing police station today is today it happening. But that is not their scene. they know thats not the way. They are educated young men believe it or not. and with proper guidance, they can empower and encourage the youth to think sensibly, FOR DOMINICA.
LinClown, I would like to see Skerrit or the police come to my house to ‘deal‘ with me. I would show them that this country does NOT belong to the DLP or Skerrit.
Do I detect a smell of paranoid skid marks in Skerrit’s underpants?
This is nothing more than a Roosevelt Chichi Royer Skerrit ploy to arrest anyone who speaks against the labor party, and government Roosevelt.
Fact that the courts have ruled against him and his SC Tony; he believes ordering the arrest and release of these men, will deflect the attention of the people from the fact that he and his SC are looser in this case!
While I commend Cara Shillingford, for her courage, and legal skills; and for not fearing the powers that be; this should be a wake up call for those who simply sit back full of fear thus allowing corrupted Roosevelt “government Skerrit” to trample on the rights of our citizens; sieging power by unscrupulous, corrupted clinical means every five years.
I am happy that there is a bread of lawyers such as Cara who will not allow a long hand with a few dollars pointed in their face from any corrupted politician tempting and which may prevent them from acting ethically.
Anyway I prefer an insurrection!
These citizens who were taken into custody by the police for questioning will never be charged. There is nothing to answer as no crime was committed. This was most likely ordered by Dr.² to harass, intimidate and flex his power over a corrupt, spineless, glad-to-please police force. Dominica has the dubious distinction of being the WORST governed country most definitely in the Caribbean., probably the world. A corrupt, unscrupulous, ignorant, morally depraved, untrustworthy man holds on to power by military might.
Blessing and Copel are not wise to come on q95 with their problem. It’s because of the two especially Blessing who feels he owns q95, I no longer listen to Q95.
That is your prerogative of course. For me, I am open to all voices first of all to keep myself informed and perhaps learn something new and secondly to help me form an independent opinion. If you follow dogma blindly you cannot observe what grows by the side of the road and eventually you find the world has passed you by.
Intimidation by his royal highness and dictator goon squad. 1970’s Haiti all over again. The same tactics on display. Frighten people wake them up in the middle of the night to keep them quiet.
@DC
The Electoral System is a rat nest of corruption. The Electoral Officials are all foot soldiers of Skerrit. The ruling political party cannot lose when the electoral system has more loopholes for corruption than a fishnet. The trajectory of the country is south bound (all downhill). All things being equal, the DLP can never win an election again. When Antiguans boast about their Five Islands University; Grenadians about their International Track & Field stadium; St. Lucians about their tourism product; Vincentians about their State of the Art International Airport and Kittitians about their two cruise piers that can accommodate four of the largest cruise vessels in the world at the same time, Dominicans have to bow their heads in shame for there’s nothing for them to boast about. This current regime has brought scandals, shame, poverty, crime, international fugitives, stagnation and underdevelopment to Dominica. Dominica should temporarily be renamed Sheep Island under Skerrit.
based on the margin of victory (notwithstanding how others feel about the results) it would be difficult for anyone to succeed in overthrowing any government. The popularity of a government among the people is a very important factor, this was borne out in Grenada and Trinidad. For their own reasons some persons are still uncomfortable about the election results but their best recourse is through the courts. If a minority group overthrow a government they WILL have to rule by the GUN….and as much as how some Dominicans are disgruntled…no one wants to live in a society under those conditions. Commonsense should prevail. Throw away Linton and work harder, is what the opposition should do.
This has got nothing to do with the popularity of the government for it be re-elected over and over but rather with elections being bought and manipulated.
“You see the beauty of my proposal it needn’t wait on general revolution.I bid you to the one-man revolution —The only revolution that is coming.”(—Robert Frostfrom Build Soil).
Jarvis, it is not difficult to start a revolution, or an insurrection and topple; overthrow “government Roosevelt Skerrit.” You see fear of the police and dying is the Dominican problem; if Charles Savarin the present day puppet, and tool of Roosevelt Skerrit alone started a Revolution in 1979 which toppled the Patrick John Government, there can be a repeat of such actions since history usually repeats itself.
One man can also start an insurrection which is basically the same thing: against an authority or government.
That’s the legacy of President Charles Savarin!
In 1964, the late Pat Stevens and I ride in the back of a truck from Roseau to Marigot, Pat was a radical politician, he was a lone opposition in Parliament, I said to him you alone what can you do?
Answer: “one man can start a…
Indeed Pat Stevens answer was’ “one man can start a revolution.” Indeed that’s precisely what what Charles Savarin single-handily did in Dominica in 1979.
You know I attended a company party one night when when I was in the job market; there was a band, a Rock-N-Roll band; play at the party; during their intermission, the lead singer, a young woman came speaking to me; she new I was not a native American due to my Dominica (Wesley accent), she asks me where I am from.
Dominica in the West Indies I exclaimed.
The woman looked in my face and smiled, and said: ” So, as in the Bob Marley songs, you are one of those people who are always singing and talking about Revolution, when you are angry, but when the time comes for the revolution, the night before you party, and drink all night, by the time morning come you tired to fight; fall asleep, and the revolution is forgotten until you are angry again.”
What’s the moral of the story?
YOU NEED TO GO WORK
It makes no sense to accuse someone when you are worst.
Loftus Durand finds faults with/in everyone in the government or anything the government does but as Blasting and Coipel said to him, he should take a good look in the mirror. Loftus what has happened to CCM?
What happen to the pledged funds received for CCM?
Loftus, can you answer that question?
Let me say here that enough is enough and the police MUST STOP intimidating people who dare to speak against this regime. Happily, whether they like it or not Skerrit days are numbered and yes the young people WILL get him out. It will be a peoples coup in broad daylight where most Dcans between Mahaut and Point Mitchel will come out in large numbers in Roseau to support the youth men while others in the countryside area will block roads etc.
Only a fool cannot see the country is completely stressed and Skerrit is making it harder for people to meet their basic needs. Unless he gives a satisfactory account for the 1.2 Billion and the $400 pushed by the opposition he will be removed. If the government does not resign there will be a coup like it or not. If you listen to men on the blocks you will see they are just looking for a leader and I am of the opinion they are now seeing BUJU as their rebel leader. When Newtown decides to make the call it will happen. I rest my case!
NOW IS THE TIME,you know nothing about 1979.Patrick John went to JAIL charged with CONSPIRACY TO OVERTHROW THE GOVERNMENT.1979 was a PEOPLES thing,at the time the most powerful union was WAWU.The difference between SAVARIN and LETANG is that,the people told SAVARIN what they wanted done.LETANG tells the people what he want them to do.MATT,LENNOX,ATHIE,BRIAN and EARL should be taken in for questioning.Too long this Government is taking BS from a bunch of rejects.The UWP contested 7 elections,LOST 6 WON 1 with a MINORITY,LAZY LOSERS.The people closed Dominica not SAVARIN,today this cannot happen because UWP is TOO CORRUPT.
Your comment proved to me that you for sure are not right in your head. I pity you!
This person should be more than just pitied it’s sad the rubbish I just read
Lin Clown is a what I call a perfect Clown who has no clue of what transpired from 1975 ,to 77 & 1978 culminating and or climaxing on May 29TH 1979 that continued to have ripple effects up into 1983; but that’s not even the argument, the argument is what is happening now in terms of governance, victimization etc is 1000 times worst than what transpired in the 70’s into the early 80’s. The question to Lin Clown is would a Charles Saverin, a Rupert Sohraindo, the late Dame Eugenia Charles, Pierre Charles, Mike and Rosie Douglas, Pat Stephens, Armantrading, and Papa Moise, ( may their souls forever RIP) among other stalwarts of that era tolerate that nonsense from a Patrick John today? So why are their disciples, like Rupert Sohraindo, Sonia Williams, Parry Bellot, Ronald ‘forestry’ Charles, Ed Registe and other strong anti corruption advocates and pro good governance champions of that time/era, doing tolerating and supporting such nonsense today. Shame on you all.
This is precisely what Skerrit and his enablers do best. They harass, intimidate and arrest innocent citizens on totally bogus charges. When a government is bankrupt of ideas, unpopular or has lost its way, they often use the military might of the state to target, persecute and frame the innocent. The police force is one of Skerrit’s main trump cards. The top hierarchy of this loose organization serves Skerrit with the complete abandonment of fairness and common sense. The citizens were pacified and bribed with ‘Cool Out’ money, concerts, free food and drinks just before the elections. The ink on the index finger is not quite dry yet and false accusations, bogus arrests, high unemployment, harassment and hunger pains are aplenty. The ever present DLP representatives have all gone into hibernation.
Is this the training Mike Pompeo gave to Loftus when he went to the US not so long ago, along with a few others from some of the Caribbean islands Trump want to get his grumpy hands on? The Venezuela project fell flat on it face. They tried to take over Venezuela and failed miserably. Loftus should have learned from that and pulled out of this Pompeo project. Dominica is a small piece of land but it will never be ceded to Pompeo and Trump for their KKK project. We see how Black people are treated by these fascist in America. Over our dead bodies will we allow Loftus and Co to deliver our piece of land to Trump and Pompeo.
Constitutionally elected government? I think that there would be a difference of opinion on that subject by many people. Then again you have to have more than 2 people running.
I saw the video and the Police have every right to pick up the men involved for questioning. If you are not satisfied with the present Government, then, you wait for the next Election. Who gives you the right to trample over mine? I voted for the DLP and would vote for them again if Election was held tomorrow. So please respect the rights of others.
Dunstan, I was born in Bagatelle and raised in Mahaut, I remember you as a very bright young boy in Morne Georgine. You would recite your times table very loudly and accurately. Please do not allow ruthless people to guide you. There are people who support the DLP firmly and so you must respect their wishes as well. As it is, the UWP is in shambles, you have the potential to create your own movement, so use your wisdom to your advantage.
There are no elections in Dominica only dictatorship and missing treasury money.
BATIBOU,Labourites does not need the POLICE to deal with CROOKED TRAITORS like you.All SKERRIT has to do is give the OK.This country is Labour country.LAZY UWP.
Old story. Zzzzzzzzz
What is this all about?? Seems starring Is this political??
We missed out on an opportunity we had yesterday to do what we had to do but to deliver our country but sadlywe failed again. After seeing what took place in Minneapolis as a result of an unorganized protest; after hearing of how Charles Savarin organized and mobilized the people on May 29 1979 to get rid of Patrick John, for things far less than what Skerrit is doing today, with that same Charles Savarin as President; after finally getting the court to agree with us that the 2014 election was indeed stolen and in a real country Skerrit and his gang would have been banned from our elections for a while and yes after hearing of the arrest of our three young men yesterday for encouraging people to help deliver our country, all of us should have flooded the city yesterday and peacefully demand the resignation of Skerrit and his entire gang. Our doctors should not work, our nurses should not work, bus drivers should not work, domlec, dowasco, our firemen and others should not work!
Now is the time dream on. What do think it is? At this time? Get a life! You want an overthrow? I thought election was just done? You say stolen! Dream on! Come to grips. The people have spoken. Now rest a little and join the hard work. Now is added Covid works. Show your grandeur! Show your worth not your mouth. Action time. Not overthrow time but prayer time. There is a bigger one than us mortal. He is the one who is boss of the Universe. Stop the hatred. Share some love.
Thanks Heaven the Law is Alive and well.MORE of this. Pm the land needs to be cleaned and only you can do it. Nice and slow,you need to refflue your office and bingo you got it. PM you cannot keep a good man down and you are the best.
Mountain!! which one of the laws that are alive? the one that says” no law, not even the constitution can prevent me from doing as I please’? or the Senior council and skerrit framing Linton as the one leaking the PM’s IPO filed documents? is it the one that facilitated Military police searching Lintons house for evidence only to find out that it was the Senior Council who leaked the PM’s IPO information? is it the same law Skerrit used to say that he was the one who gave permission to Astaphan to share his private information? is it the same law that allows no one to be charged for public mischief? Is it the same law that barred deceased Mano from getting justice before his death? is it the same law that allows youths to be picked up on may 28th for expressing their views,yet still the PM wife can express her view that her snipers are ready to strike and not be picked up? Is it the same laws that allows for the unaccounted millions? Please tell us which law is alive?
Some of allu Dominicans can post rubbish to wi jah
The police quoted: ‘an attempt to overthrow a lawfully elected government’. The last three elections without a shadow of a doubt have been unlawful!