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A fifth person has been charged in connection with a pro-Palestinian protest in Ottawa on Nov. 18.
Originally, Ottawa police had announced that four people had been arrested for allegedly blocking a downtown street during a demonstration during the evening of Nov. 18. Police said demonstrators had gathered on Elgin Street at about 5 p.m. “and were advised by the Police Liaison Team members multiple times that they would need to limit their demonstration to the sidewalk and not obstruct traffic.” Demonstrators did not comply, police said.
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On Sunday, police said a 29-year-old woman, who was not identified, had also been arrested in relation to the same protest. She was charged with two counts of public mischief, obstruction of police, counsel an uncommitted indictable offence of mischief and unlawful assembly. The woman was to appear in court Monday.
In a news release Sunday, police said that on Nov. 18, in addition to the four who were initially arrested, they had “identified others in the crowd committing offences but deemed that it would not be safe to make arrests at the time and risk an escalation. These activities included obstructing police, mischief, directing others to commit offences and repeated noise offences.”
The original four who were arrested — Josh Lalonde, Ali Nasser-El-Dinne, Ayman Fadil and Hassan Hamed — face charges of mischief, obstructing a peace officer and participating in an unlawful assembly.
“We recognize the concerns raised by members of the community regarding these arrests,” the Nov. 24 police news release read. “The OPS is committed to ensuring community safety and respecting the lawful right to protest. Any charges related to demonstrations are carefully considered with this balance, and we are focused on balancing the need for public safety with fostering trust and understanding.”
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