Hamilton police arrested and fined a Toronto lawyer for entering near a Conservative progressive campaign stop on Thursday evening, but Caryma Sa’d says she was attacked for criticizing party leader Doug Ford.
Police say Ford was at John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport to make a campaign stop around 5:30 p.m., when protesters showed up.
Sa’d said he was asked to leave Ford’s events in the past and this time responded by attending the event. She is known for creating cartoons and videos that criticize politicians and people protesting against public health measures.
Sa’d said he was not there as a protester but as a political commentator. He said someone on the Ford team asked her to leave and called police when she refused.
A video posted on Twitter by Sa’d appears to show the conversation in front of Cargojet’s premises before his arrest.
So far no one was able to send in the perfect solution, which is not strange. pic.twitter.com/zXGPoZ7s3H
– @CarymaRules
“It’s pretty obvious what your intentions are getting here, it’s all over Twitter … You’re not invited to this event, you’re not welcome … we know you’re not here with the right intentions,” he said. a person talking to Sa’d in the video. The person appears to be wearing an in-ear headset, but their affiliation is unclear.
“I’ll wait for the police,” Sa’d said in the video.
The Progressive Conservative Party did not respond to CBC Hamilton’s questions about the incident, differing from police.
Police in riot gear stormed a rally on Friday, removing hundreds of protesters by truck. Police in riot gear stormed a rally on Friday, removing hundreds of protesters by truck.
Woman received multiple warnings before arrest: police
Another video posted by Sa’d on Instagram appears to show the moments immediately before his arrest. Hamilton police spokeswoman Jackie Penman said the arrest took place around 6:30 p.m.
“So that’s your choice,” a Hamilton police officer says in the video.
“No one has articulated why … I don’t have permission for this event, I have an answer,” Sa’d says as someone tells him he’s entering.
“Okay, you’re under arrest,” the agent says before the video shows him approaching her.
Penman told CBC Hamilton that officers asked the 33-year-old woman to move “several times and ordered that if she did not comply, she would be arrested for intrusion, not to abandon the premise when instructed.”
Another video posted by Sa’d seems to show her handcuffed.
“Can she leave?” says someone behind the camera.
“No, he had his chance,” the police officer says.
Sa’d was removed from the property before being released and given a $ 65 bill. Penman said the woman was taken to Airport Road before others joined her and demonstrated peacefully.
“As far as I know, there have been no other arrests at campaign stops this year,” Penman said.
‘This should never happen in a free society’: Del Duca
Sa’d said he was not part of a protest, but was there to document the event.
Hamilton 350, an environmental group organizing an out-of-event protest, posted on Twitter that its members were also there. None of its members were arrested and it was felt that Sa’d was prominent.
Don Mclean, a member of the group, said he saw the arrest and corroborated Sa’d’s account. “We didn’t even have signs at the time,” he said.
McLean said she was not part of the protest and was arrested long before any protesters were on the roads. He added that his group of protesters were asked to move even when they were on public property outside the premises.
Penman did not clarify questions about the wording of the press release, which says the detainee was part of the group blocking the roads.
Toronto attorney Caryma Sa’d says she shouldn’t have been denied entry to the Ford rally in Hamilton because of her views. (Taylor Simmons / CBC)
Sa’d acknowledged that while the facility is privately owned, the rally was a public event. Since he registered for the event correctly, he said he should have been given a full explanation of why he was unable to attend.
Sa’d said that this week he attended the events of Liberal leader Steven Del Duca and had no problem, despite criticizing him.
Del Duca criticized Ford on Twitter for the incident.
“First Doug Ford is hiding from the media, now his staff has him arrested. That should never happen in a free society,” he wrote on Thursday evening.
First Doug Ford is hiding from the media, now his staff has them arrested. This should never happen in a free society. https://t.co/9KXnq1tJ6x
– @ StevenDelDuca
Green Party leader Mike Schreiner also commented on the incident during a campaign stop in Hamilton on Friday.
“It is wrong and inappropriate to arrest a journalist, even if they are citizen journalists, in a political act,” he said. “We live in a province, in a country where one, people should be able to express themselves without fear of being arrested, and two, people engaged in journalistic activities should not be arrested for appearing at a political event. “.
Sa’d said she is a little “shocked” by the event and unsure whether she will attend others in the future.
“I make political comments, so they block me out of disagreement with my views which are not violent or reprehensible … I think this is the biggest concern and it stinks of authoritarianism,” he said.