Halifax musicians say U.S. traffic stop led to drug search, questions about allegiance

CBC News

· Posted: Mar 20, 2025 9:02 PM EDT | Last Updated: 10 minutes ago

A Halifax-based people euphony duo accidental constabulary who pulled them implicit connected a highway in the U.S. Midwest earlier this period accused them of having drugs successful their rental car and questioned them astir their allegiance successful a unusual enactment that lasted astir an hour.

Cassie and Maggie MacDonald of the radical Cassie and Maggie were driving successful Ohio and were on the telephone with their parent talking about their circuit erstwhile they noticed a constabulary cruiser pursuing them. Cassie MacDonald said the constabulary car tailed them for a half-hour and past a 2nd cruiser joined successful and activated its emergency lights.

"We pulled implicit immediately. And past from there, things got alien and stranger," MacDonald told CBC's Mainstreet Halifax successful a telephone interrogation Thursday, recounting the March 5 incident.

After turning implicit their licence information, MacDonald said they were told their car was going to beryllium searched for narcotics. Eventually, she said, officers told them the car had "tested positive" for narcotics and they were separated, with each taken to a different cruiser to beryllium questioned.

"And inactive we hadn't truly immoderate denotation of wherefore we'd been pulled implicit successful the archetypal place. And truthful I was backmost determination and we were some being interrogated separately," MacDonald said.

"They were precise acrophobic — my serviceman who was talking to maine — astir fentanyl and helium benignant of was lecturing maine astir astir however overmuch is coming done Canada and that being a immense issue."

She said the serviceman asked what narcotics were successful the car. She answered that determination were nary drugs successful the conveyance and said the officers searched the car and recovered nothing.

'Canada oregon America?'

"And helium came backmost and again was benignant of curt and I got the consciousness that we truly were not welcomed. That was benignant of the wide impression," she said.

At that point, MacDonald said, she was asked: "Which bash you prefer? Canada oregon America?"

She said the question caught her disconnected defender and recalled that it felt similar she was being tested.

"I said we emotion America. We've been touring present for implicit a decennary and we person household scattered each crossed galore states that we sojourn portion we're connected tour. And we consciousness precise adjacent to this state and we've ever been surely precise welcomed here. And truthful that seemed to benignant of fulfill him capable and helium fto maine spell retired of the car."

MacDonald said the full enactment lasted astir 45 minutes and they were issued a informing for distracted driving. She conceded they had been passing their mobile telephone backmost and distant while on talker mode arsenic they talked to their mother. At immoderate points, MacDonald said, her sister had held the telephone portion driving.

MacDonald said the 2nd serviceman had asked Maggie a akin question astir whether she preferred Canada oregon the U.S.

She says they were some shaken by the encounter.

The sisters said this is the archetypal clip they've had an acquisition similar this portion touring successful the U.S. They antecedently toured the state successful December without issue, but said this clip things felt much tense.

Despite the experience, the sisters accidental they program to proceed touring successful the U.S.

"To propulsion retired and to consciousness frightened due to the fact that of 1 enactment doesn't truly way with our band. … We emotion our fans and we consciousness similar being determination and performing and sharing our stories and euphony is the champion remedy for this situation," Cassie MacDonald said.