A Turner Valley man has been made the victim of mistaken identity.
Alberta RCMP released details about charges laid against several people at the Coutts border blockade on Feb. 15. One of the suspects, Chris James Dean Carbert, 44, of Lethbridge, Alta., is facing charges including conspiracy to commit murder, possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose and mischief over $5,000.
This posed a problem for a different Chris Carbert.
The 39-year-old Turner Valley man who has been mistaken for the suspect, doxxed and made a victim of harassment via social media since the news broke.
The oilsands worker was in northern Alberta when he learned something was amiss.
“I was north of Fort McMurray working, and when I got off shift I looked at my phone and saw missed calls from people I hadn’t talked to in a while offering love and support,” Turner Valley's Carbert said in an interview Wednesday afternoon (Feb. 16).
“I was very perplexed by what they were talking about so they broke the news to me that my family and I were being targeted by online bullies, and right away I ended that conversation and called my wife.”
His partner confirmed there was, in fact, vitriolic comments being made about them on their social media pages and in messages sent to them.
“So, I went onto my Facebook page and I found it, sure enough there’s a bunch of individuals commenting… not very good things, wishing for me to ‘rot in jail you piece of s**t’ and everything like that,” said Carbert.
“At that point, I made it very clear (in a post) on Facebook that I am Chris Bradley Carbert, 39, of Turner Valley, and if it really is anyone’s business, I’ve been at work for the last seven days and I’m just flying home now.”
The matter caused a lot of anxiety for his family and left him concerned for relatives living in Calgary.
“It was a very long night. It was a very stressful night for my family and I,” he said.
“And the friends that do know me all went to bat for me online and basically told these individuals where to go, how to get there, and the quickest route, which I love them dearly for that.”
In the end, what the family man from Turner Valley hopes for is that people slow down and consider their actions before attacking strangers.
“A big disturbance I have from this is that these are adults doing this,” Carbert said. “We’re supposed to be the ones that are setting an example for the children, not to do online bullying, and we’re doing it.”
He said he is also disturbed at the prospect that the mistaken identity may cause problems down the road.
“That was my biggest concern this morning; years down the road, if I want to get on with a company for work and future endeavours like that, or even just flying,” Carbert said, adding he was put at ease by members of his local Turner Valley RCMP detachment that he shouldn’t have any concerns.
The Western Wheel has independently verified Carbert’s age and place of residence in Turner Valley through review of government-issued identification.
As of publication time, the RCMP was still in the process of verifying a place of residence for the accused.
