Toronto lawyer arrested for trespassing outside Doug Ford rally in Hamilton

A 33-year-old woman was arrested and charged with trespassing during a Doug Ford campaign rally in Hamilton on Thursday.

Hamilton police say the woman was part of a protest taking place at John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport as the Progressive Conservative Leader arrived for a scheduled campaign event.

“A protest subsequently formed outside the premises and eventually moved onto private property, blocking the road to the Cargojet facility,” police said in a statement. “The protesters were asked to move off the roadway. All individuals complied but one individual refused to move and was arrested.”

“The protest continued to operate peacefully off private property for the remainder of the campaign rally.”

Police say the woman was removed from the property and given a ticket for Trespass to Property.

While police did not identify the woman, a video posted to the twitter account belonging to lawyer Caryma Sa’d shows her being handcuffed and led away by police at the same rally.

“This is the Hamilton police arresting me for political dissent?” she is heard saying in the video.

BREAKING:

Prominent #Toronto lawyer @CarymaRules arrested at @fordnation rally.

More details will follow… pic.twitter.com/GKYGi2KAoR

— Caryma Sa'd – Lawyer + Political Satirist (@CarymaRules) May 26, 2022

“I’m a little bit shaken up still but all things considered, I am safe and sound,” she tells CityNews 680.

Sa’d, who has been critical of Ford on her social media channels, says she has been attending various political rallies throughout the campaign and this is not the first time she has been prevented from attending a Doug Ford rally.

“I previously attempted to go to Doug Ford rally at the Toronto Congress Centre and was barred from that event in early May,” she explained. “So I made sure to have the proper registration and RSVP and made my way to Hamilton only to learn I was not permitted to attend.”

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Sa’d says she was not given a clear reason for not being allowed to attend Thursday’s rally, claiming she was told ‘you have the wrong intentions, you’re not welcome here.’

“I took that to mean that some of the political commentary and critiques of Doug Ford that I tweet about and publish editorial comics about, that type of dissent wasn’t welcome,” said Sa’d. “I did try to make it clear that I was not there to protest, that I had no intention of being disruptive – I was just there to witness, observe and document the event.”

Sa’d says she intends to “remain engaged” and keep attending campaign events, be it Conservative, Liberals, or any other political party.