A provincial court judge has awarded $3,500 in damages to a Rebel Media staffer after a man struck her camera at a rally early last year, injuring her face.

Sheila Gunn Reid, Alberta bureau chief for the Rebel Media, brought a civil suit against Dion Bews, an attendee at a Women’s March held Jan. 21, 2017 , on the grounds of the Alberta legislature.

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Gunn Reid had attended the event as a “media person” for the Rebel, Assistant Chief Judge G.W. Sharek said in his decision Monday.

The Rebel is an online media outlet that does reporting and activism for right-wing causes . Bews was a participant in the rally.

At some point, Bews struck the camera Gunn Reid was using to record the event with his left hand, Sharek said.

Sharek awarded Gunn Reid general damages of $1,000 and $2,500 in punitive damages after ruling Bews was civilly liable for assault and battery against her. She had initially sought general and aggravated damages of $20,000 and an additional $20,000 in punitive damages.

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“In a free and democratic society, people, including media, should be able to attend public events, say what they wish — with certain limited exceptions — without fear of having themselves or their property abused,” Sharek said in his decision.

In a criminal proceeding last year, Bews was given a three-month conditional discharge and 30 hours of community service after admitting to uttering threats. He was originally charged with assault, but the charge was withdrawn.

During the March 28-29 trial, court saw video that Gunn Reid recorded of the incident. In it, Bews is seen approaching Gunn Reid, who is carrying a tripod-mounted camera. Bews shows his middle finger to the camera and says “Ezra Levant, f— you,” in reference to the website’s founder.

Around 20 seconds later, the camera is struck and Bews is heard to say “you don’t have the right to film me everywhere I go.”

The incident left Gunn Reid with redness on her face where the camera struck her, which Sharek characterized as a “minor, indeed trivial” injury. However, he awarded Gunn Reid $1,000 in general damages.

Sharek added the attack was unprovoked, despite Bews’ claim that he felt threatened by the Rebel because the site uses “video evidence” to raise money and “incriminate people in the court of public opinion.”

The next day, Gunn Reid posted what Sharek called a “vitriolic” video on the Rebel’s website in which she called the person responsible — among other things — a “little cuck” and a “little left-wing beta male” and encouraged viewers to identify him.

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Gunn Reid had sought aggravated damages, typically awarded in cases where a party suffers distress or humiliation, claiming the incident had led to an increase in threats against her which led the Rebel to occasionally pay for a bodyguard. However, Sharek dismissed the claim, noting the Rebel chose to post the “abusive and disrespectful” video and that it did not make sense for the defendant to compensate her for any “subsequent notoriety.”

Sharek took the rare step of awarding punitive damages, albeit in a low amount, saying it was “unacceptable” for Bews to “seek to curtail the media’s right to report and opine on the event” through violence.

The judge also ordered Bews to pay $1,000 in legal costs to Gunn Reid. Both declined to comment on the case.