Questions raised after arrest of Calgary protester on hate-motivated disturbance charge
CBC
A Calgary man who police accuse of using an antisemitic phrase during a downtown rally last weekend is facing a charge of causing a disturbance, with hate motivation also being applied to that charge.
Wesam Cooley, 32, who also goes by the name Wesam Khaled, was arrested after the rally on Sunday. The hate motivation aspect of the charge — if proven — would apply as an aggravating factor at sentencing if he is found guilty.
But a co-organizer of the protest, who says she took part in a pre-rally conversation with police, said Cooley was assured by one CPS member before his speech that the words he was about to use while addressing supporters would not result in charges that day.
According to a police statement, two groups of protesters gathered Sunday at Calgary's city hall to rally about the conflict in the Middle East. One group was there to show support for the Palestinian people. The other for Israel.
In the statement, police say members of their Diversity Response Team and Public Safety Unit met with members of both groups before the protests "to ensure the safety of the participants, the public and our police officers and to discuss some of the language and signage observed at past protests."
They say after that conversation Cooley took to the stage and acknowledged the conversation with police.
"He then proceeded to repeatedly use an antisemitic phrase while encouraging the crowd to follow along," according to the police release.
Police will not say what phrase was allegedly used by Cooley, but according to a public statement from the group that organized the protest, Justice for Palestinians, Cooley was charged for uttering the phrase "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free."
It is "a protest chant that has been a Palestinian call for liberation for decades," according to the Calgary group's statement.
However, Jewish groups have described the phrase as antisemitic, and say it advocates driving Jews out of Israel.
The Calgary Jewish Federation didn't respond to a request for comment, but thanked police for taking swift action after the weekend protest against a person "who was publicly inciting hate," in a statement posted on the organization's Facebook page on Nov. 7.
"This arrest will hopefully set a precedent not only in Calgary but in other cities," it added.
CBC News has viewed video of the event posted to Facebook and Cooley can be seen leading the crowd in the chant after telling them that he was just told that the Alberta government is looking into deeming the chant as hate speech.
"They are investigating whether or not people should be able to be arrested for hate speech crimes just for chanting that chant," he told the crowd.
Run 3 Space | Play Space Running Game
Traffic Jam 3D | Online Racing Game
Duck Hunt | Play Old Classic Game
Four in five of the wildfires so far in Saskatchewan this year have been caused by humans — the vast majority of them accidentally. But experts say part of the reason they've spread so far, so fast, is another human factor: climate change driven by the burning of fossil fuels.
Just a block away from the border of Alberta and Saskatchewan there's a garden uniting green thumbs in Lloydminster.
Shelley Lindaas has long dreamed of seeing a Kermode bear cub in person.
The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) report outlining the events leading to the death of Erixon Kabera answered some questions for his family and friends, but many remain.
Syed Hassan says he doesn't like to complain much. But when his wife told him she got a parking ticket on Thursday night, he knew he needed to speak out.
Following the public outcry over the Jian Ghomeshi case, some legal scholars and sexual assault survivor advocates lauded changes made to the Criminal Code that would prevent defence lawyers from surprising complainants at trial with past emails or text messages with the defendant.
The Waterloo Region District School Board has been talking a lot about the word "family" this month.
At Pedro's Island Eatery in North Rustico, owner Pedro Gameiro has long been not a fan of using seed oils for frying
The parking lot of the Kwanlin Dün Cultural Centre in Whitehorse was full on Friday, and the building surrounded by well-dressed young people and their proud families. Despite the smoky conditions in the city, there was much to celebrate.
Toronto has moved one step closer to allowing fiveplexes and sixplexes in neighbourhoods across the city.
Warning: Some readers may find photos in this story distressing.
Fifty years ago this fall the leaders of France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States met in a castle outside Paris for three days of meetings, at the conclusion of which they issued the Declaration of Rambouillet, a 15-point statement of principles and commitments.
An Iranian woman living in Newfoundland and Labrador says she's watching attacks between Israel and Iran with worry for her family back home.