Toronto police have announced five additional arrests in connection with antisemitic signage displayed at a demonstration that took place on March 15 in the Bathurst Street and Sheppard Avenue West area, the heart of the city's Jewish community.
In a news conference on Monday, Toronto Chief of Police Myron Demkiw provided updates on the investigation. "On April 2 we announced the arrest of one individual and a charge of public incitement of hatred at the time. We also announced that a number of search warrants had been carried out at multiple locations, and that phones and laptops had been seized," Demkiw said.
"This investigation continued over the past weeks, and yesterday, early in the morning, police carried out search warrants and arrested five additional suspects in relation to the March 15 incident," he added.
These five individuals have been charged with public incitement of hatred and willful promotion of hatred. The individual arrested two months ago also faces an additional charge of willful promotion of hatred.
Chief Demkiw noted that since October 7, 2023, Toronto police have laid 30 hate propaganda charges, including 11 willful promotion of hatred charges. In contrast, during the ten-plus year period before October 7 (2010 to 2023), only six hate propaganda charges were laid, including four charges of willful promotion of hatred.
"We will continue to be relentless in following the evidence to hold those who commit criminal acts of hate accountable, no matter how long it takes," Demkiw stated.
The March 15 protest, which occurred in a predominantly Jewish area, featured signs that dehumanized Jews and promoted hate-inciting antisemitic rhetoric. Photos shared on social media by the account Leviathan (@l3v1at4an) and later by B'nai Brith Canada, the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA), the UJA Federation of Greater Toronto, and Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center showed demonstrators carrying placards with offensive imagery.
One sign depicted a caricature of an emaciated Orthodox Jewish man emerging from a cave with the text asking whether "Iran has stopped" yet. Another showed a caricatured Jewish man wearing a kippah crying "Help us, Daddy!" into a walkie-talkie covered in an American flag as three missiles rained down in the background. A third sign featured rats crawling in and out of a hole shaped like the Star of David.
The arrests follow an open letter co-signed by B'nai Brith Canada, CIJA, and the UJA Federation of Greater Toronto, which called on Toronto police to investigate and lay charges, declare assemblies unlawful when they promote hate, and make necessary changes to protect the city. The protest occurred just days after three Toronto synagogues were hit by gunfire within a week.
In the open letter, the organizations wrote: "As synagogues are shattered by gunfire and extremists march through largely Jewish neighbourhoods, it's clear that the status quo is not only unacceptable — it's a growing threat to innocent life in our city."
