Charge laid against COVID protester accused of assaulting journalist in Surrey, B.C.

More than a year after protesters demonstrating against COVID-related mandates blocked a border crossing in Surrey, a charge has been laid against a man accused of assaulting a member of the media during the blockade.

Vojislav Zmukic, a 56-year-old Coquitlam resident, has been charged with assault, Surrey RCMP said in a news release Friday.

Crown prosecutors approved the charge last week, and Zmukic was later arrested and released with a court date scheduled for next month.

Police said a camera operator who was filming the crowd at the Pacific Highway border crossing was assaulted near the intersection of 8 Avenue and 176 Street on Feb. 19, 2022.

While Mounties did not elaborate on what transpired, their statements from the time describe "a group of aggressive protesters" surrounding members of the media. 

Video captured by CTV News at the time appears to show several protesters surrounding, harassing and intimidating a crew from the CBC. Two men could also be seen spitting at the journalists. 

Protesters shut down the border crossing on consecutive weekends last February in solidarity with the self-described Freedom Convoy that was then occupying downtown Ottawa.

Last week, the Public Order Emergency Commission concluded that the federal government met the threshold for invoking the Emergencies Act to bring an end to the protests and blockades.