A 51-year-old Vancouver activist has been charged with assault in connection to a protest on Monday over former U.S. vice president Dick Cheney's entrance into Canada.
Darren Grant Pearson allegedly choked a staff member at the Vancouver Club rally.
Pearson was among 250 protestors who showed up outside the prestigious club, where Cheney was promoting his new book, "In My Time: A Personal and Political Memoir."
Peace activists say both Cheney and former U.S. president George Bush should be arrested for violating a United Nations convention against torture by admitting to authorizing treatments ranging from assault to secret detention of prisoners.
According to the police, protestors began to get physical with people trying to get into the exclusive $500-a-plate dinner – grabbing ankles and pushing people.
"There were some people who were quite violent with our police officers – one gentleman broke through the police line and began choking a young staff member of the Vancouver Club," said Const. Lindsey Houghton.
Pearson is scheduled to appear in Provincial Court on Oct. 12.
Police also anticipate protests and problems in October, when Bush is planned to attend a business summit in Surrey.
The New York-based Center for Constitutional Rights and the Canadian Centre for International Justice said Thursday that Canada's attorney general must launch a criminal investigation against Bush.
Bush will be in town on Oct. 20 for the Surrey Regional Economic Summit.
With files from the Canadian Press
