No evidence of racist intent behind torches: police chief

Edmonton's police chief says the department doesn't have evidence of racist intent behind the use of tiki torches at a February anti-lockdown rally.

Chief Dale Mcfee told media Tuesday he and the Edmonton Police Service don't condone tiki torches but said some people didn't know why they were carrying them at the legislature on Feb. 20. Torches are a symbol often associated with white nationalism and Mcfee confirmed hate crimes detectives were present.

“Because somebody says that's a white supremacist rally, you have to have evidence that it is, because that's not what it was … we don't have that evidence,” he said.

The protest has been widely condemned for white supremacist imagery. Flyers promoting the event included photos from a 2017 white nationalist torch rally in Charlottesville, Va.

Premier Jason Kenney and Mayor Don Iveson both condemned the rally last month, saying that “prominent racists” promoted the event and people from hate groups like Soldiers of Odin and Urban Infidels attended.

Mcfee said there wasn't any evidence at the rally meeting the definition of a hate crime in the Criminal Code that would lead to a successful prosecution.

Mcfee also reiterated an earlier statement by EPS that the event was largely peaceful, although four officers were punched in the head. Police are still looking to identify the culprit and will hold that person accountable, he said.

SPEAKER CHARGED

Evan Balgord, executive director of the Canadian Anti-hate Network, said the connection to hate at the rally is obvious.

“When the police chief says there was no intent that this was a racist rally, it was promoted as that for anyone who was paying attention,” he said. “There's the

Charlottesville imagery, and then there's picking speakers like Kevin J. Johnston, who has already been charged with hate speech.”

Johnston was previously charged with a hate crime in Ontario and ordered to pay $2.5 million in a defamation lawsuit over hateful comments.

Far-right groups generally believe police support them, he said, and so making strong statements condemning their actions and hate, particularly before an event, is important. “Anything short of full-on condemnation, they perceive as support. When the police show up and let them have their rally and lead them on bikes or stand around talking, they perceive that as police protection.”

Absence of strong condemnation and consequences emboldens them, he said. Balgord said protesters should have been ticketed for breaking the health restrictions, but Alberta sheriffs have jurisdiction over the legislature grounds.

`DISHEARTENING'

Irfan Chaudhry, a hate crime and violent-extremism researcher and director of the office of human rights, diversity and equity at Macewan University, said the chief's comments are probably correct given the limits of the Criminal Code. But he said downplaying the significance of the symbols is “disheartening ” given recent attacks on Muslim women and an increase in right-wing extremism in Alberta.

“Symbols are power in rightwing extremism, and the power in itself is by being able to deny that it's connected to any type of … hateful ideology,” he said.

“Acknowledging the impact that the symbols have on communities of colour, whether or not there's enough evidence to proceed with any charges, I think that's another consideration, but it's that support for the community that I think is missing.”