Kootenays, British Columbia, sect of the Doukhobors known as the Fraternal Council of the Sons of Freedom. On March 6, 1962, members of the sect used explosives to bring down a 100-metre tower supporting power transmission lines crossing Kootenay Lake to a lead and zinc mine in Kimberley, BC. As a result, over one thousand mine workers were laid off until power to the mining operations could be restored. Civic leaders called on the federal government to respond to the bombing with "drastic action" and the Government of British Columbia offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to the conviction of those responsible. Fearing vigilantism on the part of the miners or others affected by the sect's actions, the RCMP brought in one hundred officers from the Prairies to watch over the tensions. On March 24, 1962, RCMP officers, on the strength of two confessions of sect members implicating the Sons of Freedom, arrested fifty-seven members of the sect. The members were charged, along with ten other members that were already in custody, with conspiracy to intimidate the Parliament of Canada and the Legislature of British Columbia. Due to tensions in the Kootenays, the venue for the trial was moved approximately 500 kilometres, from Nelson to New Westminster, BC. The preliminary trial began on June 11, 1962, with Nelson Magistrate William Evans presiding. In court, the two confessions were withdrawn with the members claiming duress. Despite over 98 witness testimonies and the Crown presenting over 500 pages of seized documents as evidence, on August 7, 1962, Magistrate Evans dismissed the Crown's case on the basis that there was insufficient evidence to proceed to trial. Meanwhile, 104 members of the sect, including children, continued to be detained on remand at Mountain Institution in Agassiz, BC. Birth of the association On December 9, 1962, a meeting of 80 people was held in Vancouver at the University of British Columbia in response to the ongoing detention of Doukhobors at Mountain Institution. This would mark the first official meeting of the BCCLA. The association was incorporated under the Societies Act on February 27, 1963. Under the leadership of Phillip Hewett, an Anglican minister, a board of directors formed and a committee was struck and a "Doukhobour defence fund" was created to fund litigation and investigation into the Mountain Institution issue. Subsequent to its formation, the BCCLA successfully fought for release of the detainees. The