Instead, the residents went to the grounds of the school that borders the site. McHale encouraged the rally members to control their tempers. Meanwhile some Six Nations people and their Native and non-Native supporters gathered together for a "Potluck for Peace" on the site under negotiation between the Haudenosaunee Confederacy Council and the Provincial and Federal governments. December 16: OPP arrested Gary McHale for breach of the peace for organizing a rally in Caledonia. January 27: Federal negotiator Barbara McDougall says land claims will not hold up in court. April 12: Haldimand County Mayor Marie Trainer said she received an e-mail from OPP commissioner Julian Fantino implying that the town is encouraging "divisive rallies" at the occupation site. He added that if any officers are harmed, he would not support a renewal of the town's policing contract in 2008 and would back any lawsuit brought against the town by individual officers. An OPP spokesperson said to "The Hamilton Spectator" that the OPP will neither confirm nor deny the authenticity of the e-Mail because it is correspondence meant for a particular person. September 4: A development site within six miles of the Grand River in Brantford, Ontario, was blocked off by pro-Six Nations protestors. September 13: Sam Gualtieri, a builder, was attacked in a confrontation with native protesters at the 90-home Stirling Woods development and seriously injured. A small group of natives had occupied the property that morning. This assault was one of several criminal cases later prosecuted by the government. April 25: Six Nations protesters blocked off the Highway 6 bypass and a Canadian National Railway to show support for four Mohawk arrested during a protest at Tyendinaga on April 24, 2008; this protest had started in March 2007. Shawn Brant, one of those arrested, was charged with assault with a weapon, breach of bail conditions, possession of weapons and possession of marijuana. At around 4:30pm protestors in Caledonia dug a trench across the Highway 6 bypass and dragged a large part of a hydro tower over the road. The OPP erected two blockades on either side of the bypass to ensure public safety. June 15: Some local residents announce the formation of an unarmed "militia" to enforce laws they feel the Ontario Provincial Police have failed to uphold. June 18: Community Safety Minister Rick Bartolucci says the militia is a "dumb idea." February 22: Haldimand mayor Marie Trainer says that the province is leaning towards giving the Douglas Creek Estates to the Six Nations Band Council, but that she expects it to be some time before a formal decision is reached.