Article content
Police have charged a 74-year-old woman with assault after a protester had her hijab scarf pulled off her head from her head at a demonstration at City Hall May 14.
The incident was picked up on video on May 14 when pro-Israel and pro-Palestine groups gathered outside city hall after a ceremony to raise the Israeli flag, marking 76 years since Israel’s establishment.
Article content
The Ottawa Police Service hate and bias crime unit began an investigation.
In a social media post Thursday, OPS said a 74-year-old Ottawa woman has been identified and charged with assault, harassment by threatening conduct and mischief in the incident.
The accused is to appear in court at a later date.
“We continue to encourage anyone who witnesses or experiences such incidents to report them to police. Reporting hate-motivated incidents is an important step in stopping cycles of hatred,” police said in the post.
A short clip shared on social media shows a woman wearing a hijab, or head scarf, waving a Palestinian flag when another woman approaches her from behind. The suspect made insulting motions to the camera before ripping off the hijab.
There was no indication either woman was injured.
The Muslim Advisory Council of Canada said at the time of the incident that it’s glad police are investigating and that the female victim was offered support.
Police services across Canada have reported a rise in reports of Islamophobic and antisemitic hate crimes since the Israel-Gaza war broke out in October
Share this article in your social network