Black Lives Matter Toronto is claiming credit for the defacing of three statues in downtown Toronto, saying it is calling on the city and province to defund the police, invest in communities and create emergency safety services that “do not harm Black and Indigenous people.”
Black Lives Matter Toronto is claiming credit for the defacing of three statues in downtown Toronto and three people are facing related charges.
The two women, Jenna Reid and Danielle Smith, aged 35 and 47 respectively, and one man, Daniel Gooch, 35, all of Toronto, have all been charged with three counts of mischief under $5,000 and conspiracy to commit a summary offence, according to Toronto police.
Black Lives Matter Toronto described the defacing of statues of former prime minister John A. Macdonald, King Edward VII Equestrian and Egerton Ryerson as an artistic disruption.
The group is calling on the city and province to defund the police, invest in communities and create emergency safety services that “do not harm Black and Indigenous people.”
“Along with a coalition of artists, the group artistically disrupted statues of slaveholders and monuments to colonialism at Ryerson University and at Queen’s Park,” the group said in a statement.
“The action comes after the City of Toronto and the Province of Ontario have failed to take action against police violence against Black people.”
In a press release Saturday afternoon, Toronto police said Smith and Gooch had been released on a promise to appear, while Reid is being held for a show cause hearing. But later this evening, Const. Alex Li, spokesperson for the Toronto Police Service, told CBC News that the conditions of release had changed and all three were still in police custody.
Li said the three counts of mischief refer to three separate incidents.
Police said all three were provided access to legal counsel.
‘This is a really serious miscalculation’
But Saron Gebresellassi, lawyer for one of the three, said she waited to speak to her client for more than three hours after the arrests were made and didn’t know where the three were processed.
“This is a really serious miscalculation. This is a misstep in this climate,” she said. “Canadians are tired of this ongoing battle. This is not the way to work with young people and to work with Canadian leaders.”
The arrests came after Black Lives Matter Toronto held a rally and march on Saturday m