Chris Miller was so angry over how Toronto police handled arrests during the G20 summit he grabbed a nugget of charcoal from his barbecue and headed for police headquarters.

“Shame on you,” he scrawled on the sidewalk. Soon after, Miller found himself handcuffed and in the back of a patrol car. The 29-year-old man was strip-searched at 52 Division and charged with mischief under $5,000.

But on Monday, Miller and nearly one-third of the 303 people facing charges for alleged criminal acts during the G20 summit had their charges dropped, according to estimates from local activists and lawyers representing the accused.

Outside court, Miller said he was happy his charge was withdrawn but feels it never should have been laid in the first place.

“I have a problem with the criminalization of dissent,” he said, adding that a good rain would have washed away what he did.

The attorney general’s office said it couldn’t provide an exact number of people whose charges were dropped until Tuesday. Estimates by a legal support group Monday morning were close to 100.

At a Monday night rally against G20-related charges, activist Mohan Mishra addressed a crowd of about 100 people outside police headquarters.

“Over 75 people are no longer facing charges, an admission by the Crown that the charges are bogus,” he said.

The demonstrators stood in the drizzling rain and chanted “Free our friends!” in a protest that called on the attorney general to drop all charges. Most there weren’t charged in the June riots, but showed up to support those who were.

While the group was peaceful, their words were filled with anger, much of it directed at police.

“We need a police service that acts a lot differently than how they acted at the end of June,” said Anna Willats of the Toronto Police Accountability Coalition. The crowd erupted in cheers and applause.

“We’re not going to stop until every one of those charges are dropped!” activist Brook Thorndycraft yelled into a microphone. “We’re not going to shut up.”

Rachelle Sauve, out to show her support after a long day at court, said she refused to accept the offer of a $50 donation to charity in exchange for dropped charges. Sauve was charged with obstruction and wearing a disguise during the G20.

“I have no urge to go to court and waste my time and theirs,” Sauve said. “But I believe it’s my job to fight for our civil liberties.”

By the end of the G20 summit, more than 1,100 people had been arrested in Toronto. More than 800 were released unconditionally or never booked.

Of the 200 or more people whose charges were still pending Monday, many were instructed to return to court at a later date, including the 17 alleged ringleaders whose cases were put over until the end of September.

Peter Rosenthal, lawyer for prominent activist Jaggi Singh, said he expects there will be a number of lawsuits for false arrests in the coming months.

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“I think that it was obvious the police were way too active in arresting and detaining people during that weekend.”

With files from Brendan Kennedy and Liam Casey