Man arraigned on charges from antisemitic post
A man accused of posting an antisemitic message last fall on a social media account belonging to a Nova Scotia government employee was arraigned in Halifax provincial court Tuesday on a pair of criminal charges.
Samual Shaji, 26, is charged with fraudulent impersonation and unauthorized use of a computer.
Lawyer Leslie Hogg appeared in court by phone on behalf of Shaji.
Hogg said the defence had yet to receive disclosure of the evidence from the Crown.
Judge Gregory Lenehan adjourned the summary charges until April 22 for pleas.
An Oct. 16, 2023, post on Nargis Demolitor’s account on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, described Israel as the “Nazis of the 21st century.”
Demolitor, who ran unsuccessfully for the Progressive Conservatives in the 2021 provincial election in the Clayton Park West riding and most recently worked as an adviser to Labour and Immigration Minister Jill Balser, was then fired by Premier Tim Houston.
Demolitor said her account had been hacked. The premier said that even though the access to the account was unauthorized, it was made easier by the actions of Demolitor, who as a government employee shared social media log-in information with an individual outside of government.
“There is no place for hate in the PC party or in Nova Scotia,” Houston said at the time.
Halifax Regional Police announced the impersonation charge Feb. 15, saying they had received a report Oct. 17 that someone other than the holder of the social media account had posted the antisemitic message.
Police did not name Shaji in their news release but said the suspect was arrested in Bedford on Feb. 7.
Shaji was released by police on an undertaking that requires him to remain in Nova Scotia and have no contact with Demolitor.