A 20-year-old American freelance journalist known for his anti-Olympic views was detained at Vancouver’s airport and denied entry into Canada.
Martin Marcias Jr. was held for seven hours on Saturday and then flown to Seattle, his supporters say.
Chris Shaw, an associate professor at Simon Fraser University’s School of Interactive Arts and Technology, is a personal acquaintance of Marcias Jr.
“As a member of the No Olympics (group), I’m not terribly surprised,” Shaw said yesterday.
“As a Canadian I’m pretty shocked. It’s the kind of thing where we talk about what happened in China and now it’s happening here.”
He also said Marcias Jr. was scheduled to leave Canada on Feb. 11.
Marcias Jr. usually works with a community radio station in Chicago, but according to Shaw, it was his involvement with the group No Games Chicago that caught the attention of Canadian Border Service Agents.
“Somehow he is a threat to Canadian security, which is absurd,” said Shaw.
Marcias Jr. was recently permitted to enter Denmark for the Copenhagen Climate Summit and to Switzerland to protest Chicago’s Olympic bid.
