Toronto man charged with inciting hatred after allegedly waving terrorist flag during demonstration

Toronto police have charged a 41-year-old man with public incitement of hatred following a demonstration last weekend in the downtown area.

Police say Maged Sameh Hilal Al Khalaf was marching in the area of Queen Street West and Bay Street as part of a demonstration that was taking place on January 7, waving the flag of an organization listed as a terrorist group by Public Safety Canada.

Al Khalaf is scheduled to appear in court to answer the charge on Feb. 23.

During a meeting Thursday of the Toronto Police Services Board, Chief Myron Demkiw declined to provide any further details or present images of the flag that led to the arrest, saying he would not be complicit in “providing a platform to both acknowledge or promote the hateful ideology that accompanies terrorists or terrorist activity.”

On Oct. 30, a Toronto police spokesperson told The Canadian Press that “a flag alone” may not be enough to lay charges. “Consideration must be given to the context in which a flag is displayed,” spokesperson Stephanie Sayer said at the time.

“This is an unprecedented charge,” said Demkiw, noting that there is a “very high threshold” when it comes to laying this type of charge against an individual.

Under the Criminal Code of Canada, an individual convicted of this crime faces up to two years in prison.

Demkiw said the Toronto Police Service Hate Crime Unit will continue to work closely with the Ministry of the Attorney General’s office when it comes to investigating and prosecuting hate-motivated incidents.

Between October 7, 2023, and January 10, 2024, police have made 54 arrests and laid 117 charges in connection with hate crime occurrences. Of the 117 charges laid, Mischief was the most common charge (28) followed by Assault (22) and Uttering Threats (17).

There have been three reported hate crimes in Toronto to date in 2024, two that were antisemitic and one targeting LGBTQ2S+ communities. As well, the Service has received 145 web submissions to date from people using the Hate Graffiti Web Form.

Demkiw said police dealt with 190 hate crime-related calls each month from October to December 2023, compared to an average of 47 a month from January to September last year. Since October 7 to date, Demkiw said antisemitic incidents are up 168 per cent from the same period last year, and an increase of 23 per cent more anti-Muslim, anti-Palestinian anti-Arab incidents reported compared to 12 per cent the year prior.