A tip from the Anti-Defamation League in the U.S. led to hate-crime charges over a Canadian’s antisemitic postings

Suspect charged with advocating genocide and willful promotion of hatred and antisemitism via Hamilton, Ont.
Screenshot from the media release by Hamilton Police.
Screenshot from the media release by Hamilton Police.

A man whose antisemitic social media posts targeting Jews triggered an international alert and also prompted the Ontario attorney general’s office to approve charging him with rarely-used hate crimes offences, is set to make a court appearance on Feb. 5.

Hamilton police announced on Jan. 31 they had charged a local man with three counts including advocating genocide, wilful promotion of hatred, and wilful promotion of antisemitism, under Sections 318 and 319 of the Criminal Code, which usually involve threats to murder Jews, and denial or distorting of the Holocaust.

Officials said these charges date back to Sept. 27, 2024, when the U.S.-based Anti-Defamation League (ADL) noticed the disturbing posts on X, made by a man living in the Canadian city.

The ADL soon notified Hamilton’s Jewish Federation, as well as the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs. That’s when Hamilton police were called in, and conducted a joint investigation with the RCMP and Interpol, according to Jazmin Rymberg, a spokesperson for the Hamilton Jewish community.

Police arrested the suspect three days later, on Oct. 1, 2024. He was originally charged with uttering death threats, and breaking probation.

But police felt the online posts were disturbing enough to ask the province to approve adding hate crime charges. That authorization came through nearly four months later, on Jan. 30, 2025.

Harley Mitchell, 32, will appear by virtual link at 9:30 a.m. on Feb. 5 at the Ontario Court of Justice on Main Street. He has remained in custody, police said.

While the social media posts were made in Hamilton, federation officials tell The CJN the target was not anyone in the Hamilton Jewish community, nor in Canada, for that matter.

“Other than the fact [the suspect] was from Hamilton and made the postings while in Hamilton, (there was) no connection to our community for this incident,” Rymberg said in an email Tuesday.

The CJN has not seen the posts.

The Hamilton Jewish Federation welcomed the charges last week, and commended Hamilton police for taking swift action to hold the suspect accountable.

“Hate has no place in Hamilton. This sends a clear message—antisemitism and threats against our community will not be tolerated,” the federation said in a statement on Jan. 31. “We remain vigilant and committed to ensuring the safety of Jewish Hamiltonians.”

Hamilton police confirm the suspect is the same person who was already on probation for an earlier incident that happened in July 2024, in the downtown area of the city. A man was arrested after a woman was confronted while out walking her dog, before work. Police allege the man brandished a 20-cm kitchen knife and threatened to stab the dog. The victim’s boyfriend tackled the attacker and held him until police arrived.

Police charged Mitchell with six counts, including assault with a deadly weapon, uttering death threats, and threatening to kill a dog. He was released from custody, and still faces those charges.

Invoking the hate crime charges under Section 318 and 319 of the criminal code requires special approval from the provincial attorney general’s department. Those convicted face up to two years in prison.

When asked why the ministry decided to green light the stronger response, a spokesperson said that as the case is ongoing before the courts, they cannot comment.

However, the police actions have received praise from Jewish and non-Jewish groups alike.

“Disturbingly, Hamilton’s Jewish community has been increasingly targeted by virulent antisemitism,” Michael Levitt, president of the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Centre for Holocaust Studies in Canada, said in a social media post. “Important to see these incredibly serious charges laid against the accused…by @hamiltonpoliceontario, and their commitment that ‘Hate has no place in Hamilton.’”

In a separate statement, the Hamilton Anti-Racism Resource Centre at McMaster University decried the “rising tide of hate that continues to inflict harm on individuals and communities.”

Officials urged all levels of government to tackle the problem.

“The charges approved by the office of the Attorney General represent an important step in holding individuals accountable for spreading hate and fear in our community,” the resource centre said in a statement.

Police reported hate crimes in Hamilton shot up by 26 percent in 2023, from the previous year.In the most recent annual report from the Hate Crimes Unit, Jews were the most targeted group for hate crimes against a religion, with 44 cases, up from 42 the year before. Three-quarters of the reports against Jews involved graffiti, police said.

Hamilton’s federation recently became the first one in Canada to look south of the border for help protecting the community.  They became a member of the Secure Community Network (SCN), based in Chicago, which boasts a 24/7 war room of analysts who monitor threats to the Jewish community in North America. The SCN works closely with the FBI and Homeland Security, among other U.S. law enforcement agencies. The intelligence which they gather gets shared with over 130 Jewish federations who are currently enrolled.

The community in Hamilton recently hired 30-year veteran police commander Glenn Mannella, formerly with the Halton Regional Police, to head up local security in the community.

Funding came in part from the Jewish Federations of North America’s Live Secure program, and also from Canadian philanthropists.

Mannella told The CJN that it was “very rare” for police to pursue the Section 318 and 319 charges.

Hamilton police have laid these types of elevated hate crime charges only three other times since 2007, according to data provided to The CJN.

Two charges from 2007 did not proceed. One from 2021 resulted in a conviction. Two more charges are outstanding from June 2023. Hamilton police could not provide details of these cases, by the time of publication.

In the majority of other cases, police laid other kinds of charges like mischief, including an incident involving antisemitic graffiti at a local synagogue.

Two local men were convicted of mischief with hate motivation for chalking up Beth Jacob synagogue in 2019. Two years later, they were sentenced to house arrest, probation, and long hours of community service.

In 2023, a Hamilton man was sentenced for six months house arrest after he pleaded guilty to posting anti-Muslim messages on his social media account, in which he praised the 2021 murders of four members of a London, Ont. Muslim family.

In June 2024, police charged a 54-year-old man with criminal harassment after he entered a Hamilton mosque, made comments to the students, refused to leave, and tore up a Qur’an.

In September 2023, a Quebec court sentenced a Montreal man to 15 months in prison after he was convicted of wilful promotion of hatred for a series of antisemitic, Holocaust-denying articles he published in a far-right news publication.

Author

Support Our Mission: Make a Difference!

The Canadian Jewish News is now a Registered Journalism Organization (RJO) as defined by the Canada Revenue Agency. To help support the valuable work we’re doing, we’re asking for individual monthly donations of at least $10. In exchange, you’ll receive tax receipts, a thank-you gift of our quarterly magazine delivered to your door, and our gratitude for helping continue our mission. If you have any questions about the donating process, please write to [email protected].

Support the Media that Speaks to You

Jewish Canadians deserve more than social media rumours, adversarial action alerts, and reporting with biases that are often undisclosed. The Canadian Jewish News proudly offers independent national coverage on issues that impact our audience each day, as a conduit for conversations that bridge generations. 

It’s an outlet you can count on—but we’re also counting on you.

Please support Jewish journalism that’s creative, innovative, and dedicated to breaking new ground to serve your community, while building on media traditions of the past 65 years. As a Registered Journalism Organization, contributions of any size are eligible for a charitable tax receipt.