Progress Report editor Duncan Kinney said he's innocent of the vandalism Edmonton police charged him with. .“I will be pleading not guilty and defending this charge,” said Kinney in a Monday email to supporters. .“As many have pointed out this appears to be an attempt by the EPS (Edmonton Police Service) to silence and discredit a critic.” .Kinney was charged with mischief on Tuesday after he allegedly defaced a statue outside an Edmonton Ukrainian centre with graffiti..READ MORE: Alberta far left-wing journalist charged for alleged vandalism of Ukrainian statue.He faces one count of mischief under $5,000 in connection to the incident in 2021. .The words “Actual Nazi” were tagged in red spray paint on the base of the Roman Shukhevych statue. Kinney wrote about the statue being defaced in the Progress Report. .None of the allegations have been proven in court. .The statement said Kinney arrived at his office on Oct. 14 where he was arrested by Edmonton police Const. Freddie Challenger for mischief. It said he was handcuffed, placed in an unmarked police vehicle, and taken to the downtown division. .He was interrogated by another officer for about 30 minutes. On the advice of his lawyer, he refused to answer any questions. .He was released on an undertaking to appear for his first court date on Nov. 10. The case will likely be adjourned until his lawyer receives full disclosure. .Kinney said he cannot talk about the substance of the case, but promised to “mount a vigorous defence, if it comes to that.”.While he cannot publicly defend himself, he said the void “has been filled by media outlets making cartoonishly basic mistakes about the facts of the matter and the usual far-right, pro-police voices on social media saying things that are untrue.”.“EPS hasn’t been able to stop our work by revoking our media credentials or by tying us up in an interminable ‘media accreditation process,’ and they won’t stop us with these charges either,” he said.
