Border crossed in protest, Mohawk chief arrested

Cornwall, Ontario

Mohawk Chief Mike Mitchell was arrested and charged with violating the Customs Act as he drove his pickup truck, loaded with blankets, groceries, clothes and a washing machine, into Canada without paying customs duties.

"Sorry, I ain't gonna pay the taxes and the duties," Mitchell told a customs officer at the border station on the band's St. Regis reserve.

Many Natives say that under Jay's Treaty of 1794 between United States and Britain, they are exempt from paying duty on certain goods carried across the border.

When Mitchell would not stop his truck, an RCMP officer placed the chief under arrest.

About 1,000 fellow Mohawks marched behind the chief's truck carrying protest signs.

Mitchell is to appear in provincial court April 20. If found guilty, he faces a maximum fine of $25,000 or six months in jail.