[UPDATED] Chris Must List gets $100,000 bail on sedition charge

CANADIAN YouTuber Christopher Arthur Hughes, who has been charged with sedition, has been granted $100,000 bail.

And in an unusual twist, his attorney, Criston J Williams, will stand as his surety for at least the next two days until the police verify the information provided for another surety.

Hughes, 45, of Toronto, Canada, was given a cash alternative of $10,000 and is to report to the West End police station on Wednesdays.

He returns to court on June 6, when the State is expected to indicate whether the trial will proceed summarily in the district court or indictably before the High Court.

Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions Danielle Thompson also has to provide an Interpol background check on Hughes. The request was made on June 3.

The vlogger, who goes by the name Chris Must List, appeared before Master Margaret Sookraj-Goswami on June 3.

Hughes, who gave his occupation as a web developer, was arrested at a residence in Flagstaff, Long Circular, St James earlier last week.

Hughes is represented by a team of attorneys including Anand Ramlogan, SC, Pamela Elder, SC, Russell Warner and Williams.

Thompson objected to bail, saying Hughes was deemed a flight risk, as he had no ties to Trinidad and Tobago and was a non-national. She also referred to social media recordings in which Hughes purportedly said he wanted to “get out of Trinidad” before he was charged, as well as the strength of the prosecution’s case, which involved videos uploaded to YouTube.

However, Ramlogan objected, saying it was a dangerous assumption to deem a visitor to TT a flight risk.

Referring to the Privy Council judgment in the Maha Sabha’s challenge of the Sedition Act, delivered in 2023, Ramlogan said the case against Hughes was “on the lowest threshold.”

He said the summary of evidence to support the charge set out no alleged intent to incite violence, though the Privy Council’s ruling said a true interpretation of the sedition laws was a requirement that there must be an intention to incite violence or disorder.

Ramlogan said he intends to raise a constitutional point, but will do so once the prosecution decides on the mode of trial.

He said Hughes was an internationally acclaimed vlogger and his videos intended to highlight the mistakes of government measures and highlighted the situation on the ground. He said the State’s reaction should have been to go after the men brandishing guns, but instead it chose to “arrest the messenger and throw out the baby with the bathwater.

“He was an easy target, and what they chose to do was put a big plaster on a societal sore.”

Ramlogan said even as a visitor, Hughes enjoyed the right to freedom of expression, protection of the law, political expression and freedom of the press. On the latter, he said the definition of a journalist was not limited to mainstream media.

"The charge violates his rights. Don’t arrest the messenger to hide the message.”

Ramlogan also expressed concern over his client's being remanded into prison custody because of a newspaper report that police took him to certain hotspot areas after he was charged.

He said although that report turned out to be false, it gave the impression Hughes was co-operating with police and could be considered an informant.

“If he is put in the general population, his life would be at risk. You would be sending him there to meet his death.”

He said Hughes was married with three children. His wife is a professional race car driver in Canada.

At an earlier hearing, Ramlogan said Hughes was “entitled to his liberty, consistent with the presumption of innocence.”

Ramlogan also noted the matter had attracted international attention.

A statement from the police on May 30 said Sgt Lee of the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) charged Hughes on May 29.

His arrest came after the vlogger posted videos on YouTube featuring alleged gang members “advocating criminal activities, and using threatening language.”

Hughes was detained, interviewed and informed of the allegations against him.

The statement said investigators consulted with Director of Public Prosecutions Roger Gaspard, SC, who directed them to charge Hughes under Section 4(1)(c) of the Sedition Act.

The charge alleged that on May 9, Hughes published a seditious publication (an audio-visual video) on the social media platform, YouTube.

Hughes who specialises in video interviews with criminal gangs, arrived in Trinidad earlier in May interviewed alleged gang members and shared his experiences on Facebook and YouTube, garnering thousands of views.

Most of his videos on Trinidad have since been set to "private" on his YouTube account. Edited versions are still accessible on his Instagram.

In the videos, men were seen with high-powered weapons complaining about their treatment at the hands of the government.

Shortly after he was charged, a message purporting to be from his family alleged Hughes was being held without access to a lawyer.

Williams said on June 2, his client was not afforded due process when he was charged.

“His fundamental human rights were contravened, and then misinformation was put in the public domain that could result in either his death (or) my death…”

Williams also claimed police visited his offices last week and disclosed he has sought an audience with the President.

Hughes, in a voice note on the second day of his detention, said he felt his arrest was politically motivated.

“I am loved by this country; I want to keep it that way,” Hughes said. “I have done nothing wrong. "It seems like a political ploy for some reason. Someone in the government is upset.”

At the earlier hearing, Thompson admitted police encountered an administrative hiccup with the Judiciary’s online system when trying to file the complaint against Hughes.

She said an initial complaint was filed early on May 30 and a new complaint, with different particulars, was also lodged at the High Court, so there were two live complaints.

One of the issues the police encountered was getting the endorsement which shows the DPP’s consent for the charge being laid uploaded to the Judiciary’s system. She also agreed to disclose the summary of evidence.

This story was originally published with the headline 'Candadian YouTuber to seek bail in late court hearing,' and has been updated to include additional details. See original post below.

CANADIAN YouTuber Christopher Arthur Hughes, who has been charged with sedition, will return to court later today (June 3) with a request for bail.

The vlogger, who goes by the name Chris Must List, appeared before Master Margaret Sookraj-Goswami on the morning of June 3.

Hughes, 45, was arrested at a residence in Flagstaff, Long Circular, St James earlier last week.

His matter was stood down until 1.30 pm after assistant DPP Danielle Thompson asked for a short adjournment to sort out administrative issues relating to the charge against him.

Hughes is represented by a team of attorneys including Anand Ramlogan, SC, Pamela Elder, SC, and Criston J Williams.

Ramlogan objected to an adjournment, asking instead for the matter to be stood down to later in the day.

“I am loath to have this hearing adjourned, because of the seriousness of charges and the length of time he has been in custody.

“He is a visitor to our shores. I cannot see a reasonable justification for the adjournment unless the State consents to bail. He is entitled to his liberty at this stage.

“The state cannot say there are filing problems with the court system to have the matter adjourned.

“He is entitled to his liberty, consistent with the presumption of innocence.”

Ramlogan also noted the matter had attracted international attention.

A statement from the police on May 30 said Hughes was charged by Sgt Lee of the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) on May 29.

His arrest came after the vlogger posted videos on YouTube featuring alleged gang members “advocating criminal activities, and using threatening language.”

Hughes was detained, interviewed and told of the allegations against him.

The statement said investigators consulted with Director of Public Prosecutions Roger Gaspard, SC, who directed them to charge Hughes under Section 4(1)(c) of the Sedition Act.

The charge alleged on May 9, 2024, Hughes published a seditious publication (an audio-visual video) on the social media platform YouTube.

Hughes who specialises in video interviews with criminal gangs, arrived in Trinidad earlier in May, interviewed alleged gang members and shared his experiences on Facebook and YouTube – garnering thousands of views.

Most of his videos on Trinidad have since been set to "private" on his YouTube account. Edited versions are still accessible on his Instagram.

In the videos, men were seen with high-powered weapons complaining about their treatment at the hands of the government.

Shortly after he was charged, a message purporting to be from his family alleged Hughes was being held without access to a lawyer.

Williams said on June 2, his client was not afforded due process when he was charged.

“His fundamental human rights were contravened, and then misinformation was put in the public domain that could result in either his death (or) my death…”

Williams also claimed police visited his offices last week and disclosed he has sought an audience with the President.

Hughes, in a voice note on the second day of his detention, said he felt his arrest was politically motivated.

“I am loved by this country; I want to keep it that way,” Hughes said. “I have done nothing wrong.

"It seems like a political ploy for some reason. Someone in the government is upset.”