A janitor accused of planting a bomb inside the Windsor Assembly Plant warned co-workers to avoid a second-floor storage area where the explosion occurred days later, witnesses said at trial.
Warning to Co-Workers
James Harris, 37, told a co-worker days prior to the Nov. 4, 2021 explosion not to go for their daily walks upstairs where janitors often spent time during breaks, co-worker Britney Balkwill said in Superior Court on Wednesday.
It was along the lines of 'I know you guys walk upstairs, but I wouldn't do that in the next couple days. Something's going to happen,' Balkwill said Harris told her.
The Explosion
Days later, an explosion causing a ball of fire rocked that second-floor space, a Stellantis Chrysler security guard testified at the start of the trial in April. Harris is accused of rigging a bomb that caused the explosion at the Stellantis Chrysler plant and is currently on trial before Superior Court Justice Bruce Thomas.
Prosecution's Case
At the trial's opening in April, prosecutors said the accused's political and medical beliefs would be a key factor in the Crown's case. On Wednesday, assistant Crown attorney Iain Skelton presented as evidence TikTok videos allegedly made by Harris expressing his opposition to the plant's COVID vaccine policy in the months prior to the explosion.
If standing up for yourself burns a bridge, I have matches — we ride at dawn, says a voice over lip-synched by Harris in one TikTok video presented in court. Don't put me in a position where I've got to show you how heartless I can be. You might never look at me the same, says the soundtrack of another video allegedly made by Harris and posted on TikTok on Oct. 15, 2021.
After the Explosion
On the day after the explosion, Harris was very vocal about his opposition to Stellantis' mandatory vaccine policy, said former co-worker Victoria Moore. He was just talking about the protests that they had for the anti-vaccination, and storming the unions, Moore testified. He said Canadians are submissive, and that's not going to be his choice. He's going to choose activism.
Moore said she mentioned that whoever had done this could have seriously hurt somebody. Like you're attacking the wrong people, you know? Your coworkers are just coming in, they're trying to get paid. They're trying to leave. Someone could have gotten seriously hurt. Someone could have died. She said Harris replied, Don't worry, no one would have gotten hurt. No one would have died.
He was angry, he was very vocal, he was very passionate, Moore said. He wasn't angry at his co-workers, but he was angry with what was going on, very passionate about the circumstances.
