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This article was published 1/2/2016 (1690 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

He claims to be above the law and exempt from prosecution. Now justice officials are trying to clip the wings of a high-flying Winnipeg man who refused to show up for his trial.

Tony Gibson, 36, is charged with illegally soaring over the city in a powered paraglider. He was arrested in 2014 after the crew of Air1, the Winnipeg police helicopter, saw him in the sky above Wilkes Avenue and Charleswood Road. Gibson did not have a licence to operate power paragliding equipment inside city limits. He was charged with the dangerous operation of an aircraft.

Gibson is acting as his own lawyer and has claimed on several previous occasions in court that the government has no right to prosecute him. On Monday, he made good on prior threats to ignore the legal process by failing to appear for the start of his case in provincial court.

Judge Heather Pullan has now issued a warrant for his arrest.

"On the face of this, this appears to be a cavalier disregard for Mr. Gibson’s obligation to attend court," Pullan said.

Police have been instructed to try and find Gibson as soon as possible and bring him into custody. Gibson apparently told the Crown he was going on vacation rather than participate in his trial. If he can be found immediately, his trial could still be held this week – albeit under obvious duress.

"These are actions aimed at destruction of my human rights," Gibson said during a court appearance last year that was anything but routine. "This is an unlawful summons."

Gibson is part of the so-called Freemen on the Land movement, which has often tied up the courts in what are often deemed frivolous, time-wasting battles.

He previously told Judge Sandy Chapman he was giving her 15 minutes to drop the case against him -- or he would launch a flurry of related legal motions and lawsuits.

"There's no force of law to proceed with a trial. I'm very disappointed I'm the only one in court here who knows the law," Gibson said at the time.

He also took issue with the fact he is the person named in the court documents, arguing he is "not a person" as defined by common law.

Police had been contacted by Transport Canada aviation enforcement about Gibson, who had previously been warned by the agency regarding his operation of the power paraglider in a restricted area.

Police said Gibson posed a serious risk to commercial and other air traffic headed to or from the Richardson International Airport. The paraglider unit was seized and impounded.

A powered paraglider has a parachute and a small motor. It differs from a paraglider, also called a hang-glider, which is an unpowered parachute that would be launched from a height or towed up into the air. A 25-hour training course, which costs about $4,000, and an ultralight pilot permit issued by Transport Canada are required to fly one.