Montreal mayor, police chief defend officers after weekend anti-NATO protest vandalism
'The images from Friday are shocking: people breaking windows, torching vehicles,' said Valérie Plante
Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante condemned the actions of protesters and defended police after chaos broke out at a demonstration Friday evening against the NATO Parliamentary Assembly taking place in the city.
Plante held a news conference Monday afternoon, saying Montreal police officers have attended nearly 500 protests since the war in Gaza began last fall.
"The images from Friday are shocking: people breaking windows, torching vehicles," Plante said. "We have to reiterate loud and clear that gestures or words like we saw over the weekend have no place in Montreal. Protesting is a fundamental right, but not to the detriment of other communities."
Montreal police say at least three people were arrested after pro-Palestinian and anti-NATO demonstrators turned violent, with protesters throwing objects at police, lighting two vehicles on fire and breaking windows.
Police say they arrested a 22-year-old woman for obstructing police work and assaulting a police officer, as well as two men, 22 and 28, both for obstructing police work. All three were released and will appear in court at a later date.
The protest, organized by the Divest for Palestine collective and anti-capitalist group CLAC, was meant to denounce the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, as the city hosts the 70th annual session of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly from Nov. 22 to 25.
Organizers said the purpose of the protest was to demonstrate against what he called NATO's "complicity with Israel's military while it's conducting its genocide in Gaza." They also pointed to "war crimes in Lebanon, Syria" and other injustices in the region.
While Canada and the United States are NATO members, Israel is not.
Plante blamed the property damage on what she called "professional vandals" who she said are known to police. She accused them of co-opting the protests to carry out violence and said more arrests are expected once police examine more footage from the events.
No place for hate at protests: Trudeau
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also addressed the protests on Monday.
"In democracy, we will always defend freedom of expression, of protesting, of expressing our opposition on certain positions, but there is never place for violence, for hate or intimidation," Trudeau told reporters.
On Saturday, on X, Trudeau called what happened "appalling."
"Acts of antisemitism, intimidation and violence must be condemned wherever we see them," he wrote.
He said the RCMP was in touch with local police, adding "there must be consequences and rioters held accountable."
Over the weekend, Montreal police said they have not received any reports of antisemitic acts or other hate crimes related to the demonstration.
Plante was asked Monday whether Friday's protests were antisemitic, but she said she did not believe they were.
The mayor noted that the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) is the only police service in the province to have received special training on crowd management, terrorist attacks and cybersecurity.
"I'm extremely proud of the police force we have here in Montreal. I want to thank them. The work will continue," Plante said.
In an interview with Radio-Canada's morning radio program Tout un matin, Dagher said the chaos only lasted about five minutes.
"It's as if we played a spotless hockey season but all that's talked about is the one goal that went through," Dagher said, after noting the hundreds of demonstrations Montreal police have watched over in the past year.
Written by Verity Stevenson