Former leader of Canadian Nationalist Party represents himself on first day of assault trial

Travis Patron, the former leader of the Canadian Nationalist Party, is representing himself during an assault trial happening at the Delta Hotel.

Patron is charged with two counts of assault causing bodily harm. He has pleaded not guilty.

The alleged assaults happened in 2019.

Police received reports that two women had been assaulted in the 1900 block of Victoria Avenue around 2:30 a.m. on Nov. 2, 2019.

Police said a man offered the two women a ride home. When they declined, the man allegedly assaulted them.

Both women had visible injuries and were treated in hospital, according to police reports.

Patron was arrested on Nov. 9, 2019.

A jury made up of eight men and four women was selected on Monday, before the crown called its first witnesses.

Regina Police Service cst. Jessica McBride was one of the officers who responded to the 911 call on Nov. 2.

“They were both extremely shaken up and they had visible injuries,” McBride testified of the two alleged victims.

On the way to the call, McBride said the officers approached a man on the street who matched the suspect’s description. She pointed out Patron in the courtroom and identified him as that suspect.

McBride said she asked to speak to the suspect that night. He declined and walked away. Police followed the suspect but lost sight of him when he turned a corner.

During cross-examination, Patron repeatedly questioned why the officers did not detain the suspect, but rather let him walk away.

Amanda Ruschiensky, a teacher in Regina, is one of the alleged victims.

She testified, telling court that she and her friend met Patron at Victoria’s Tavern the night of the alleged assaults.

She said they exchanged phone numbers after discussing education and politics at the bar.

At the end of the night, Ruschiensky claimed Patron offered the women a ride home, after the group had made their way to the front of an apartment building along Victoria Avenue. They both declined the offer, repeatedly, she said.

That’s when Patron “shushed” Ruschiensky, she testified.

“I looked at him in kind of a weird way, kind of shocked, and said, ‘What? Nobody shushes me,’” she claimed.

“And he just wound up and hit me in the face.”

Ruschiensky said she and her friend went inside the apartment foyer to get away from Patron, but he followed when the door opened.

Surveillance video from inside the foyer shows a man hitting a woman to the ground, before grabbing another woman.

Ruschiensky testified that Patron hit her friend who then fell to the floor. Ruschiensky said she grabbed onto the doorframe to try and get away. She said she eventually broke free.

Patron allegedly hit her friend once more before walking out of the building.

That is when Ruschiensky said she called the police.

“I was just shaking and in shock,” she said.

“I’ve never been hit like that before.”

Ruschiensky said she suffered a concussion, which put her off work for nearly three months. Her friend walked away with a broken wrist, she said.

The crown submitted screen shots of text messages as evidence, which show Patron allegedly apologizing to Ruschiensky for his actions the day after. She testified that Patron also called her the next day to apologize.

In the months that followed, Ruschiensky said she was afraid to go anywhere. She said she has been seeing a counselor to help her process the events.

“This will be with me for the rest of my life,” she told court.

“It’s very traumatic. Nobody should be hit like that or have to go through that.”

During his chance to cross-examine Ruschiensky on Monday afternoon, Patron sat silent in his chair.

He will have another opportunity to cross-examine the witness when court resumes on Tuesday morning.

The crown is expected to call the second alleged victim to testify during the trial.

The alleged assaults happened days after Patron lost in the 2019 federal election.

Patron ran for the Canadian Nationalist Party for the riding of Souris-Moose-Mountain in Saskatchewan.

The Canadian Nationalist Party was registered as an official party on Sept. 15, 2019.

The party was involuntarily deregistered on March 31, 2022, according to Elections Canada, after the party failed to meet the Canada Elections Act requirement of at least 250 members at all times.

The trial is scheduled until Friday.