Police charge man for hate crime toward religious leader

Ottawa police say they’ve charged a man after a religious leader received a threatening phone call and was harassed.

The incident was reported Friday, and police said in a news release the suspect was arrested over the weekend after an investigation.

A 29-year-old man was charged with various hate-motivated offences, according to police. He was scheduled to appear in court Monday. Police didn’t provide details about the alleged incident nor the religious community targeted.

“We will prosecute those who commit hate crimes to the full extent of the law,” the news release states. “Hate has no place in our city.”

Last week, Ottawa police Chief Eric Stubbs condemned several recent hate-motivated crimes in the nation’s capital targeting the Jewish and Muslim communities.

Meanwhile, police forces across Ontario say they’re seeing a spike in hate crimes since Oct. 7, when Hamas launched its attack on Israel — including spikes of antisemitism and Islamophobia.