Hamilton man faces antisemitism, advocating genocide charges after investigation into online threats

A Hamilton man faces five charges after a months-long investigation into online threats against the Jewish community, police say.

The investigation into "several threatening online posts directed towards the Jewish community" began in September, police said in a release Friday.

"Hate has no place in Hamilton," it said.

The man, 32, was arrested on Oct. 1, and charged with one count of uttering threats to cause death and for failing to comply with probation.

Police later discovered more posts and asked Ontario's Office of the Attorney General to lay additional charges.

Earlier this week, he was charged with one count each of advocating genocide, wilful promotion of hatred, and wilful promotion of antisemitism, according to police.

Rise in hate crimes year over year, police report

Early last year, the Hamilton Police Service reported a 26 per cent increase in hate crimes and incidents in 2023 compared to 2022.

Black, 2SLGBTQIA+ and Jewish people were most often targeted, according to their data.

Members of the Jewish community were the most targeted group in the religious category, with 44 occurrences in 2023 compared to 42 in 2022. 

They were followed by members of the Muslim community, who were targeted in 15 reported occurrences, compared to five in 2022.