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The Ottawa Police Service hate and bias crime unit and the central criminal investigation section have charged an Ottawa woman following a series of incidents downtown on April 15.
Ottawa police say the woman, 47, was taking part in a demonstration downtown that day and “inserted herself into the situation” while police were attempting to make an arrest, physically assaulting a police officer.
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That afternoon, the woman was taking part in another “pop-up” demonstration when another victim attempted to walk near the group of demonstrators to get to their destination. An argument ensued, during which the woman allegedly assaulted the victim with a handheld sound amplifier and continued to verbally assault and impede the victim while they were attempting to walk away.
In the third incident of the day, the accused followed a different victim from a religious event that evening while shouting hateful messages and assaulting them with a handheld sound amplifier, said police.
All victims sustained minor physical injuries, said police.
The woman faces a number of charges including obstructing a peace officer in the execution of their duty; two counts of assault with a weapon; possession of a weapon dangerous to the public; two counts of hate-motivated harassment by threatening conduct and intimidation by disorderly following.
The woman is expected to appear in court Sunday.
In a statement, Ottawa police said reporting hate-motivated incidents is an important step in stopping cycles of hatred. Anyone who witnesses or experiences such incidents is urged to to report them them to police. Anonymous tips can be submitted by calling Crime Stoppers toll-free at 1-800-222-8477.
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