FYI.

This story is over 5 years old.

The VICE Guide to Right Now

A Canadian Woman Defacing Campaign Signs Was Arrested by a Conservative Candidate Dressed in Camouflage

Ryan Leef, a former MMA fighter and prison guard, was allegedly hiding in the trees off a highway.

Ryan Leef, seen here neither in camo nor executing vigilante justice. Photo via RyanLeef.Conservative.ca

A Yukon woman claims she was out defacing the campaign signs of her local Conservative party candidate, when—like a total ninja or creepy Rambo—he stepped out of the trees in camouflage and placed her under "citizen's arrest."

Whitehorse playwright Carrie Boles said she went for a late night bike ride along the highway last week and noticed signs promoting Conservative Ryan Leef. The former MMA fighter (zero wins, two losses) and corrections officer was first elected to office in 2011.

Advertisement

She told the Yukon News, "I decided I would cut out Leef's name from the signs before putting them back."

Just as she was gearing up to mutilate sign number four, Boles said she heard a "rumble in the bushes" behind her. Seeing as she was on the side of the road late at night, Boles assumed the noise was an animal, a moose maybe, or at worst a bear.

"Just then two men came into focus—one balding and dressed all in black, the other in camouflage," she recalled.

Within seconds, she said her left arm was being twisted behind her back and she was forced to the ground, as the men chanted, "Citizen's arrest, citizen's arrest, you are being placed under citizen's arrest!"

The vigilantes then cuffed her and called RCMP, she said.

"After spending a few minutes listening to the ridiculous banter over the phone," she recognized the voice of one of her captors as Leef. (She believes the other man was his campaign manager.)

"I was like, 'What are you doing sir, out here at 11 o'clock at night in the pouring rain, protecting your campaign signs?'" Boles later told CBC. A pretty fair question.

The cops let Boles off with a warning.

Leef's office did not respond to request for comment from VICE—however, when reached by the Yukon News, they confirmed the events described by Boles were true.

Follow Manisha Krishnan on Twitter.