‘You really want to go to war with us?’: Lobster dealer’s intimidation trial hears evidence

The camera from the phone points down toward the vehicle seat and shows little, but the initial words on the recording, while faint, can be made out: “You really want to go to war with us?”

That was part of a 50-second video taken in November 2024 that was played Friday in provincial court in Digby, N.S., at the trial of lobster dealer Eric David Thibault, 66, who is charged with intimidation involving allegations he threatened a local exporter.

Over the last three years, Eric Thibault has been accused of extortion and multiple counts of intimidation. But Friday was the first time any of the allegations were tested in court, after three other cases collapsed earlier this week because witnesses had not been subpoenaed.

Geoffrey Jobert, who operates the Lobster Hub Inc. in Meteghan, N.S., testified he was returning from buying groceries when he spotted Eric Thibault and his son, Zacharie Thibault, in a pickup truck flagging him down near his home.

In the days prior, Jobert had spoken publicly about a “crime family” in the area, although he had not named them. He testified the pair were also upset he was buying lobster from a certain fisherman.

“Basically, we put down the window and they just started throwing threats and slurs, saying I have to stop talking to the media,” Jobert testified. “Then they started saying, ‘Do you want to go to war?’”

Audio from part of the confrontation was captured on a video recording made by Jobert’s spouse, who was sitting in the passenger seat of their vehicle.

Just a few days earlier, someone had fired a bullet at Jobert’s home. However, the court did not hear the details surrounding this on Friday and nobody has been charged in that case.

In closing arguments, prosecutor Kathleen Hutchinson told Judge James Burrill that the Crown’s position is that there is enough evidence to prove Eric Thibault guilty of intimidation.

But defence lawyer Allan MacDonald argued there is not enough proof that the voice heard on video making the war comment is Eric Thibault’s, noting there were two people in the vehicle.

If the comment can be attributed to his client, MacDonald said it is a “very ambiguous” statement. It is more consistent with “going to war as business competitors” than it is a violent threat, he argued.

Burrill will issue his decision in the case on June 12.

Eric Thibault is currently in custody, having been denied bail last year after he was charged with multiple offences linked to an undercover police investigation — a case that has not yet been tried and returns to court in June.

At the time of his arrest last November, the RCMP described Eric Thibault as the ringleader of a crime group that behaved like “they owned” the community of Clare. It is an assertion that MacDonald criticized during an interview outside the courtroom Friday.

“I would say that things have been very much overblown in the media by the comments of certain RCMP members,” he said.

In court earlier, Jobert looked intently for a moment at Eric Thibault, who gave the hint of a smile.

Zacharie Thibault is also charged in the case, but the Crown sought to have him tried separately. He was at court late in the morning, however, to set a date for his next appearance.

During a break, Zacharie Thibault sat outside the courtroom and attempted to make small talk with Jobert, who stood just a few feet away.

“How’s house arrest?” Jobert asked Zacharie Thibault, who is on the restriction as part of his bail conditions and must wear a monitor around his ankle.

“Good, nice vacation,” Zacharie Thibault replied.

“I just don’t like them and I don’t like what they’ve done to the community,” Jobert said in a subsequent interview. “I think they are a stain on Meteghan and it’s a better place without them.”

Zacharie Thibault declined to do an interview Friday, but has previously spoken at length to the CBC and denied allegations of extortion and harassment against him.

Earlier in the week, on Monday, a charge of extortion and multiple counts of intimidation against Eric Thibault involving three alleged victims were dismissed. The RCMP admitted they had failed to serve subpoenas on eight witnesses needed for trial.

Nova Scotia’s Public Prosecution Service has said the Crown requested on April 22 that the RCMP subpoena the witnesses, and followed up with police as the trial dates approached but heard nothing.

The commanding officer of the Meteghan RCMP detachment has said there was an “administrative error” and that protocols are being revised.

Jobert said he would like to see more transparency from the RCMP, and believes it would help quell rumours online about what happened.

In all, four cases involving Eric Thibault were in court Friday, including a short trial on an allegation he had breached previous release conditions. Burrill will rule on that case on June 12.

Eric Thibault pleaded guilty to an assault with a weapon charge related to a February 2023 incident, a case that also returns to court on June 12.

The prosecution offered no evidence in a fourth case, an impaired driving allegation from May 2024, after concluding the police had breached Eric Thibault’s Charter rights related to his access to a lawyer.

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