Hamilton police make another arrest in protest
Toronto restaurant owners’ son faces more charges, including assault
HAMILTON— Hamilton police have laid additional charges in connection with a protest at Mohawk College in September and are still looking to identify other suspects.
In a news release, police said Tuesday they have arrested another person and laid additional charges against Alaa Al Soufi.
The charges stem from altercations at a protest outside a People’s Party of Canada fundraiser, attended by party leader Maxime Bernier, on Sept. 29.
Al Soufi, 27, of Toronto, is the son of the owners of Soufi’s, a Syrian restaurant in Toronto. The family temporarily closed the restaurant after the protest, citing death threats.
He is facing four additional charges of assault, theft under $5,000, intimidation and disguise with intent.
Hamilton police Insp. David Hennick said the new charges, laid Nov. 19, stem from an incident in which Al Soufi allegedly approached a woman in the parking lot at the event,
“impeded her way” and “slapped a baseball hat that she was wearing off of her head.” He allegedly picked up the hat and ran away.
The police have since identified the female victim. She supports police laying charges, Hennick said.
Al Soufi is also charged with two counts of intimidation, two counts of disguise with intent and causing a disturbance. Those charges were laid following his Oct. 23 arrest.
In addition, Michael Lickers, 27, of Hamilton, was arrested on Nov. 27. He’s charged with assault and intimidation.
Lickers’ arrest stems from an incident in which police allege he, along with two other protesters, blocked a man from entering the event and Lickers then tried to slap the man’s hat off. When the man defended himself, someone else grabbed the man’s hat, police say.
When the man tried to chase the person who took his hat, he was allegedly tackled by another protester.
On Tuesday, police also released five images showing three more “suspects” whom the police are seeking assistance in identifying.
Suspect 1 is wearing glasses, a red tuque and a red bandana; Suspect 2 is wearing a camouflage jacket, a black hat and sunglasses, and has a beard; and Suspect 3 is wearing a black cloth covering the head and face, along with sunglasses.
Hennick said Suspects 1 and 3, along with Al Soufi, are alleged to have been involved in an incident in which protesters blocked a woman using a walker — 81-year-old Dorothy Marston — from entering the event. The protesters yelled “Nazi scum” at Marston and her husband.
The three new suspects are also under investigation for their alleged involvement in an assault at the event.
Police had charged Hamilton residents Maximiliano Herrera, 30, with intimidation and assault; Kevin Metcalf, 33, with obstructing police; and Victoria Wojciechowska, 23, with theft and disguise with intent.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Det. Const. James Durka at 905-546-8966, Det. Sgt. Marco DelConte at 905-546-3851 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.