Lawn sign threatening Liberals with violence reported to police

Federal candidates in the Ottawa riding of Kanata-Carleton are condemning a homemade lawn sign that appears to threaten violence against Liberals.

'We shoot every third Liberal. Second one just left,' lawn sign in Constance Bay reads

The Canadian Press · Posted: Sep 23, 2019 1:25 PM EDT | Last Updated: September 23, 2019

The sign, seen here in front of a private home in Constance Bay on Saturday afternoon, was also photographed by Liberal candidate Karen McCrimmon, who tweeted her own photo on Monday. The Conservative candidate, Justina McCaffrey, denounced the sign and asked staff to remove her own lawn sign from the property. (Laurie Fagan/CBC)

Federal candidates in an Ottawa riding are condemning a homemade lawn sign that appears to threaten violence against Liberals.

The Liberal candidate in the riding of Kanata-Carleton, Karen McCrimmon, filed a police report on Sunday afternoon, according to her campaign office.

On Monday, McCrimmon, tweeted a photo of the handwritten sign, which reads, "We shoot every third Liberal. Second one just left."

The sign is in front of a private residence in Constance Bay.

'I don't think this is who we are as Canadians'

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Karen McCrimmon, Liberal candidate for Kanata-Carleton, tweeted a picture of the homemade sign, saying the suggestion of violence should have no place in politics.

McCrimmon wrote that she struggled with what to do after seeing the sign, but decided it was important to speak out against intolerance and suggestions of violence.

McCrimmon, a Canadian Forces veteran, said she "wore a flak jacket in Afghanistan to help secure the people there the right to vote."

I wore a flak jacket in Afghanistan to help secure the people there, the right to vote. Damned if I would allow this to pass unchallenged. 2/2
—@karenmccrimmon

Conservative candidate Justina McCaffrey, whose sign was pictured beside the homemade one, agreed that "threats of political violence have no place in our democracy."

She said she's asked her campaign staff to remove her own sign from the property.

Couldn’t agree more with you, Karen. Threats of political violence have no place in our democracy. I’ve instructed my campaign to remove our sign from this property.
—@JustinaCPC

Other candidates in the rural west Ottawa riding spoke out against the sign, too.

Even though the <a href="https://twitter.com/NDP?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NDP</a>/<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TeamCornraad?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TeamCornraad</a> are not mentioned in these signs, I do not condone any mention of violance even in a joking manner! We are on different teams but we are all woman who live, work and raise our families in Kanata-Carleton and deserve an <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/elxn?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#elxn</a> free from violance!!
—@MelissaCoenraad

Glad you’re reporting this. Unacceptable for you, your team, or anyone else to feel threatened.
—@purdygreenKC

Retweeting for visibility: I am a huge fan of free speech, and I fully expect that this was a joke, but this crosses the line. Don't do this. <a href="https://twitter.com/karenmccrimmon?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@karenmccrimmon</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/JustinaCPC?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JustinaCPC</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/MelissaCoenraad?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MelissaCoenraad</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/purdygreenKC?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@purdygreenKC</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/KanataCarleton?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#KanataCarleton</a> <a href="https://t.co/z64OAwqgzf">https://t.co/z64OAwqgzf</a>
—@ScottMillerPPC