Yellowknife (May 11/05) - A biblical-type plague descended on the Yellowknife Courthouse, Friday morning, after Mark Bogan dumped live crickets outside the offices of several territorial and Supreme Court judges.

Mark Bogan, shown shaking a bag of live crickets loose outside judges' chambers, May 6, as part of a Fathers 4 Justice protest.

Police believe the leaping insects were deposited shortly after the downtown courthouse opened for business around 8:30 a.m.

Attempts by Yellowknifer to contact Bogan about his raid were unsuccessful. According to information submitted by David Prichard, Bogan's act was in league with a Canada-wide Fathers 4 Justice protest.

Police investigators identified a suspect, but had not interviewed the person as of Friday afternoon, said Royal Canadian Mounted Police Sgt. Mike Brandford.

Investigators were spotted on the second floor of the courthouse outside of the judges chambers, taking pictures of the scene. The inch-long blackish-brown crickets - which can jump 20 to 30 times their own body length and have ears on their knees - had been cleaned up by 9:30 a.m. Crickets are not considered to be dangerous creatures, but can make an annoyingly piercing "chirp."

The location of the crickets led to speculation they may have been dropped by someone who was unhappy with a judicial decision, police said.

"This is troubling," Justice Minister Brendan Bell said Friday afternoon. "Clearly this was someone who is not happy with the judiciary."

Bell said department officials would discuss the incident with police and decide if security at the courthouse - which occupies three floors of a downtown office building - needs to be upgraded.

"We take the security of our judges seriously," Bell said.

The department cited concerns about security in their proposal to construct a new, $41 million courthouse near the legislative assembly.

Police did not say how they identified the suspect. There are cameras throughout the courthouse and signage warning that the building is monitored by cameras.