Byron Sonne sits in jail (Image: Lee Towndrow)
Arrested in the pressure cooker days before last summer’s G20 summit, Byron Sonne has been waiting almost a year while authorities decide for what, exactly, he’s being tried. The 38-year-old independent security online specialist became obsessed with the G20 security apparatus in the lead up to the summit and, in the process, lost his wife, his million-dollar home and his freedom. Today, however, he received a small bit of good news: he was granted bail—although he still faces one charge of possession of materials used to make explosives and another charge of counselling mischief.
The CBC has the story:
Byron Sonne, the Toronto man who was charged with explosives and weapons offences in the days leading up to last year’s G20 summit in Toronto, has been granted bail.
Sonne, 38, an independent online security specialist, has been in custody since he was arrested last June and charged with possession of explosives for an unlawful purpose, possession of dangerous weapons and intimidation of a justice system participant by threat and mischief.
Four of those charges were later dropped by the Crown. Sonne still faces one charge of possession of materials used to make explosives and another charge of counselling mischief.
For more on Sonne, check out Toronto Life’s May 2011 cover story, “The Anarchist of Forest Hill,” by Denise Balkissoon.
• Bail granted for last G20 detainee [CBC]
“Here’s to the crazy one, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes… they’re not fond of rules… they push the human rase forward, and while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius, because the ones who think they can change the world are the ones who do.” ~ Steve Jobs
I wish you luck!
May 17, 2011 at 10:06 am | by JVery fitting J. Byron would appreciate that..:)
May 17, 2011 at 1:38 pm | by KentMay his re-building process be fueled by his contemplations over the past 11 months, and a wish to make wine from the sour grapes of what has transpired. May his next chapter by themed by love and not fear.
May 17, 2011 at 11:47 pm | by srslyEven if Sonne never sets foot in the cooler again — and out of nothing more than sheer pity, he shouldn’t have to — the guy got everything he deserved, and thanks to Toronto Life’s lopsided hagiography recently, I remain MORE unconvinced than I ever was that it was all just an innocent little game to him, or some simple, misguided attempt to prove something most NORMAL people probably would’ve assumed anyways (“OMG!! Security apparatus can be breached! OMG!!!”). It’ll be years before he’ll feel like he isn’t being monitored because of his ridiculous nerdish-hipster need for validation. At the very least, I hope he feels considerably less important now that his cushy, undeserved lifestyle has been destroyed. Maybe now he’ll get a real job like the rest of us — one with less dependence on a sugar mommy — and realize that he CAN have a decent life in this country, rather than vainly trying to stand up to “The Man” as if only HE knows the system is flawed (show me one that isn’t, fer chrissakes!). This clown doesn’t deserve to be included among the kinds of people Steve Jobs was referring to in the quote above. Outside of his basement-dwelling internet forum pals, Sonne inspired NO ONE. His efforts meant NOTHING, they changed NOTHING, and they turned him into a bigger NOTHING than he was before. Obscurity’s almost too good for this silly little boy.
May 19, 2011 at 1:00 pm | by RexI think you’re just a mean and angry individual.
June 26, 2011 at 8:29 pm | by Biff