(Ottawa) An Ottawa man was arrested near Toronto this weekend after being filmed inciting hatred and making anti-Semitic remarks.
Ottawa police have charged Mohammed Assadi with violating several conditions of his bail and hope to keep him in jail while Toronto’s hate crimes unit investigates.
The Crown says the Toronto and Ottawa police hate crimes units are working together on this case.
Mr. Assadi appeared virtually in an Ottawa courtroom on Sunday. He is due back in court on November 14. His attorney was not immediately available for comment on the case Sunday.
Mohammed Assadi also faces outstanding charges, including assault and breaking and entering, which have not yet been considered in court.
“It is important that the public and victims of anti-Semitism have confidence in the administration of justice and the rule of law,” Crown prosecutor Moiz Karimjee told the court on Sunday, referring to the arrest of Mr. Assadi.
This comes as several Canadian police services are concerned about a sudden increase in hate crimes linked to the war between Israel and Hamas, which began on October 7.
Ottawa police reported several incidents earlier this month, including graffiti, vandalism, hate mail and threats targeting the Jewish and Muslim communities.
Last week, the Toronto Police Service announced it had increased the size of its hate crimes unit in light of a similar rise in hate crime reports.
On Sunday, Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante confirmed that police were investigating after a Jewish school was hit by gunfire for the second time.
The school was one of two schools that were targets of nighttime shootings three days earlier.