Political consultant and author Warren Kinsella testified Tuesday that he and his wife, Lisa, had ample reason to feel intimidated and frightened that the editor and publisher of a controversial publication were making death threats against them.

“We regarded the article as a call to action, that we should be bludgeoned to death,” Kinsella told Ontario Court Justice Dan Moore on the first day of trial.

James Sears, 55, and LeRoy St. Germaine, 76, respectively editor and publisher of Your Ward News, have pleaded not guilty to uttering death threats against the Kinsellas in the summer 2017 issue of the publication.

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They are also charged separately with two counts of wilful promotion of hatred against an identifiable group, namely Jews and women.

Less than 24 hours after helping John Tory’s relatively easy coast to re-election as Toronto mayor, Kinsella — a lawyer and author of several books about extremism — described the escalating conflict with Sears and St. Germaine that began after the Kinsellas began receiving Your Ward News at their east-end home.

They persuaded advertisers to stop advertising in what Kinsella described Tuesday as a racist, anti-Semitic, homophobic, sexist and offensive rag, and organized a group, called STAMP (Standing Together Against Mailing Prejudice) that successfully pressured Canada Post to stop delivering the publication.

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Your Ward News editor, publisher charged with promoting hatred

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Complaint filed against Canada Post, Ottawa over ‘offensive’ newspaper

However, the Kinsellas continued to receive copies, though with less frequency, and found themselves increasingly as targets both in words and images inside.

Crown attorney Matthew Giovinazzo showed Kinsella several issues featuring Kinsella’s image, including caricatures of him drinking the blood of Christ and his head superimposed on the head of a snake.

“We were concerned. We have six children between us, we enhanced the security system we had placed, we spoke to all of our kids about taking prudent steps,” Kinsella said.

The couple initiated lawsuits against Spears and St. Germaine, some of which are still active.

The tipping point, said Kinsella, 58, was when Sears wrote an article that ended “there was a chance that some hothead who cares deeply about me and my family would lose it and do something illegal and bludgeon the Kinsellas to death.” St. Germaine also wrote something that Kinsella felt put a “bounty” on his head.

The Kinsellas laid a private charge against the pair that was eventually taken over by Toronto police.

Kinsella, however, faced aggressive cross-examination by defence lawyer Chris Murphy, who is representing St. Germaine. Murphy suggested the case is a “battle for publicity” and the alleged death threat “inconsequential.”

Murphy asked Kinsella about the numerous articles and news releases his communications firm has issued about the case, as well as granting media interviews after a Justice of the Peace indicated charges would be laid.

“If there were neo-Nazis or members of the far right who had no right idea who James Sears or Leroy St. Germaine were, you’re actually spreading (the word about) them and spreading the alleged threat,” Murphy stated.

“Is there a question there?” Kinsella shot back in one of many testy exchanges between the two.

Kinsella finally said there was no “media tour.”

“We were shining a light on the threat. For more than 30 years of my life, my belief has been that it is better to shine a light on the cockroaches so that they scatter,” he said. “I do not believe that sticking your head in the sand is effective against people like your client.”

Murphy also grilled Kinsella about his hardball tactics in the political arena, pointing to his online bio where he says “it is said that you can be useful in a stick-swinging, bench-clearing brawl, correct?”

“It’s not an official biography, it’s clearly, for anybody, let me answer your question, anybody who reads it, it’s intended to be humorous. My official biography is on my firm’s website.”

Murphy also asked Kinsella about a tweet sent from his Twitter account on Oct. 19, 2015 that said “James Sears is a neo-Nazi sex offender,” with a link to a website that contained personal information including Sears’ home address.

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Kinsella said the tweet was a retweet and that he was unaware of that content.

The trial continues.

Correction: Oct. 23, 2018: This article was updated from a previous version that misstated the full name of STAMP.