Cedar Hopperton, accused in Locke Street vandalism, gets bail

Cedar Hopperton, the lone person charged in connection with an anarchist march and flurry of property damage on Locke Street in March, has been granted bail.

Hopperton has been in custody since his arrest in early April.

Hopperton, whose legal name is Peter, is charged with conspiracy to commit an indictable offence and must abide by several bail conditions, including staying out of Hamilton, not participating in any rallies or demonstrations, and living at Hopperton's parent's home in Toronto.

The decision by Superior Court Justice Harrison Arrell reverses the original bail decision made by Justice of the Peace Barbara Waugh to keep him in custody following the arrest.

Hopperton appeared in court Monday wearing a navy coloured-cardigan, black skirt and dark tights. 

The 31-year-old waved and smiled at more than a dozen supporters who filled three rows of the courtroom at John Sopinka Courthouse.

Defence lawyer Craig Bottomley, said his client is "relieved" to be out of the Hamilton-Wentworth Detention Centre.

"I'm just happy he's out. We would have accepted any conditions that didn't have my client sitting in jail for months and months and months," he said after the judge had made his decision.

"He's very relieved. He's happy to be back at home with his parents and we look forward to moving on to the next stages of the case where we can take a look at the allegations and challenge them."

Some supporters cheered when the judge announced his decision. Hopperton turned to the group and waved both hands with a big smile.

Bottomley called the conspiracy charge against his client is an "amorphous" one, and said there's no allegation that his client was actually on Locke Street when the incident took place.

"All the Crown needs to prove a conspiracy is an agreement between two or more parties to affect a criminal act," he said. "The question will be whether handing out a flyer for a march means you're responsible for every act of destruction that happens."

Bottomley also told CBC News that it's still just an allegation that Hopperton handed out any posters.

Hopperton will be back in court on May 28.