The clip garnered an avalanche of online condemnations from critics who claimed preferential remedy through the police toward anti-Israel protesters, in contrast to how Canadian law enforcement has cracked down on the “Freedom Convoy” of truckers protesting COVID-19 mandates in the past. as well as some pro-life protests.
Toronto Police Service spokeswoman Laurie McCann, reached via Fox News Digital Sunday, said: “When it comes to the coffee stand at X, our officers are handling a dynamic situation. “
CANADA BACKPEDALS AFTER US, DOZEN OTHER NATIONS REJECT UN ‘HUMANITARIAN TRUCE’ IN ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR
Pro-Palestinian protesters gather in front of Union Station in Toronto, Ontario, on Jan. 4, 2024. (Mert Alper Dervis/Anadolu via Getty Images)
“Your most sensible priority is to maintain order in a tense environment on the Avenue Road Bridge,” McCann said in an email. “By performing an act of relief yesterday, our officer’s motivation was to help keep tensions down and should not be construed as part of any cause or group. “
“Our officials continue to work to reduce those protests and maintain public calm and safety,” McCann added.
The @LibsofTikTok account amplified the video that has been viewed more than a million times on X, writing, “In Canada, patriotic truckers have their bank accounts frozen, pro-Palestinian protesters blocking a Jewish network get hot coffee from the police. “
In a message to his nearly 428,000 followers, Rebel News editor Ezra Levant wrote: “@TorontoPolice gives coffee and donuts to Hamas supporters. @OttawaPolice hides the identities of anti-Semitic hate criminals. Or they were colonized through dangerously awakened partisans.
“You can’t accept the same thing as the police in most Canadian cities,” Levant said.
TRUCKER PROTESTS IN CANADA AND PARALLELS IN HISTORY
The video appears as Toronto police investigate a chimney and graffiti at a Jewish grocery store, which could constitute a hate crime.
International Delicatessen Foods, located on Steeles Avenue West near Petrolia Road, had the message “Free Palestine” spray painted on the outside, CBC reported. Toronto police showed Fox News Digital that the incident was still under investigation on Sunday.
In addition to the Toronto café video, Levant responded Friday to a press release announcing that the Ottawa Police Service’s Hate Crimes and Bias Unit charged an individual following a “series of incidents of mischief against property in downtown December. “Police ignored the suspect’s name.
“On the night of December 22, the individual spray-painted a series of anti-Semitic symbols and other hateful messages at various locations downtown and in the Golden Triangle. A 34-year-old Ottawa man has been known and charged with 18 counts. . property damage. He is expected to appear in court today,” he said.
Another critic, attorney Ryan O’Connor, shared screenshots of messages from another Toronto Police Service worker who was protecting the video in the first place, saying officials dealt with a “dynamic situation. “
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators gather outside Union Station during a rally in Toronto, Ontario, on Jan. 4, 2024. (Mert Alper Dervis/Anadolu via Getty Images)
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“So after a Toronto Police spokesperson – who defended the police providing taxpayer-funded coffee to protesters blockading a highway bridge and entrance to a Jewish neighbourhood on the Sabbath – was criticized online, she simply deleted her Twitter account,” O’Connor claimed.
“Toronto Police: If you block a highway bridge containing one of the three entrances to a community full of Jews, on Saturday, you can hope you don’t get arrested yet to get taxpayer-funded coffee for your efforts,” O’Connor wrote earlier, first of all reacting to the video.
Danielle Wallace is a reporter for Fox News Digital covering politics, crime, surveillance, and more. Tips can be sent to danielle. wallace@fox. com and on Twitter: @danimwallace.