Hate Crime & Legal Update: Winnipeg Hate Propaganda Plea, Synagogue Shooting Charges, and Edmonton Heritage Festival Attack
- Rochelle Direnfeld
- 9 hours ago
- 6 min read
Week of August 10, 2026
Guilty Plea to Hate Propaganda Charges in Winnipeg
On July 30, 2026, Jason Paul Rindall pleaded guilty to advocating genocide and wilful promotion of hatred against the Jewish and Muslim communities in Winnipeg Provincial Court.
He was originally charged in February 2026 by the RCMP in Manitoba with uttering threats to cause death to Muslims, Jews and Prime Minister Mark Carney. The charges of advocating genocide and wilful promotion of hatred were added on March 30, 2026. Both charges required the consent of the Attorney General to be laid.
Between February 2025 and February 2026, Rindall posted multiple messages on his public X account advocating for the genocide of Muslims, “by killing members of the group, or deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction,” the prosecutor read into court. Rindall also posted messages amounting to wilful promotion of hatred against both Muslims and Jews between March 2025 and January 2026.
In one message, he said, “Hitler was on to something,” and in another, that “North America needs de-Jewification.” He also made posts “self-identifying as a racist.” Rindall remains in custody and will be sentenced at a later date.
ALCCA will be coordinating a community impact statement on behalf of multiple community organizations.
Arrest in Multiple Acts of Vandalism at Toronto Church
On August 1, 2026, Toronto Police arrested Khaliq Hussain Anwar, 56, of Toronto with three counts of mischief related to religious property.
The allegations are that on Friday, July 24, 2026, the accused attended a church in the area of Cosburn Avenue and Pape Avenue and threw a rock through a window, causing damage to the property. On Friday, July 31, 2026, the accused returned to the same church and again threw a rock through a window, causing further damage, and on Saturday, August 1, 2026, officers were in the area when they observed the accused throw a rock through a window of the same church. He was arrested at the scene.
Anwar was taken into custody and held for a bail hearing. He was subsequently released on bail. His next appearance in court is September 17, 2026, at the Ontario Court of Justice, 10 Armoury Street.
Arrest in Hate-Motivated Harassment in Toronto
On July 19, 2026, Toronto Police arrested Reginald Cuff, 45, of Toronto, in connection with the following charges:
Criminal Harassment
Two Counts of Uttering Threats
Obstruct Peace Officer
The allegations are that on Sunday, July 19, 2026, the accused approached the victim and made repeated anti-Muslim comments during an unprovoked interaction. The victim attempted to walk away, but was followed by the accused, who continued to make threats.
Out of fear for personal safety, the victim flagged down a passing police officer, resulting in the accused’s arrest. Following his arrest, the accused refused to identify himself and threatened the officers with violence.
Cuff was taken into custody and held for a bail hearing. At the time of writing, he remains in custody. His next appearance in court is September 2, 2026, at the Ontario Court of Justice, 10 Armoury Street.
Third Suspect Charged in Vaughan and Toronto Synagogue Shootings
On Monday, August 10, 2026, the York Regional Police Firearms Investigations Team, along with the Toronto Police Service Integrated Gun and Gang Task Force, charged a third person in connection with the March 6 and 7 shootings at the Shaarei Shomayim Synagogue in Toronto and the Beth Avraham Yoseph of Toronto Synagogue in Vaughan. We earlier reported on the arrests of two young persons in relation to the shootings on May 6 and on May 27.
The allegations are as follows:
On Friday, March 6, 2026, just before midnight, sounds of gunshots were reported in the Clark Avenue West and York Hill Boulevard area of Thornhill. When York Regional Police officers arrived, they observed that the front doors of Beth Avraham Yoseph Synagogue had been damaged by gunfire. Two occupants, who were inside the synagogue at the time of the shooting, were not injured.
Just after midnight, on Saturday, March 7, 2026, Toronto Police Service officers responded to reports of gunshots in the area of Bathurst Street and Glencairn Avenue. When officers arrived at the Shaarei Shomayim Synagogue, they located damage to the synagogue’s front entrance consistent with gunfire.
No one was inside at the time of the shooting and no injuries were reported. Chris Perreira, 23, of the City of Barrie, is charged with the following:
Reckless Discharge of Firearm x4
Possession of Property Obtained by Crime, over $5,000 x2
Mischief Related to Religious Property x2
Conspiracy to Commit an Indictable Offence x2
Possession of a Prohibited Firearm
Unauthorized Possession of a Firearm in a Motor Vehicle x2
Possession of a Loaded Prohibited Firearm
Possession for the Purpose of Trafficking Schedule I substance
Police had previously charged Perreira with a shooting that occurred on Wednesday, March 25, 2026, at a residence at Clubhouse Road and Pine Valley Drive in Vaughan. He has also been charged with another shooting that occurred on Thursday, March 19, 2026, in the area of Steeplechase Avenue and Beacon Hall Drive in Aurora. These multiple charges raise the obvious concern, identified in our earlier reports, that Perreira is yet another gunman hired to target a variety of locations, including Jewish community spaces.
Jewish Federation of Hamilton the Victim of Hate-Motivated Mischief
The Hamilton Police Service (HPS) has arrested a 51-year-old male in connection with the vandalism of the Jewish Federation of Hamilton building. He has been charged with one count of mischief under $5,000. The HPS has declined to name the accused.
The allegations are that on Sunday, July 19, 2026, the accused attended the organization's property and threw a bottle containing white paint at the building. The incident resulted in paint splattering on several areas of the overhead signage and the main entrance.
Given that the building is also home to the Hamilton Jewish Community Centre, the property meets the definition of “property” under section 430(4.101) of the Criminal Code such that a charge of mischief motivated by bias, prejudice or hate under section 430(4.1) of the Criminal Code ought to be considered by the HPS.
The investigation was led by the Hamilton Police Hate Crime Unit.
Knife Attack at Edmonton Heritage Festival’s Israel Pavilion
On August 3, 2026, at approximately 3:00 p.m., a man was arrested after attempting to slash a tent occupied by the Israeli pavilion at the Edmonton Heritage Festival. As private security escorted the man from the area, the crowd was heard to be chanting “All the Zionists are racist.”
A protest against the Israel pavilion organized by several groups, including Independent Jewish Voices Edmonton, Edmonton Jews Against Zionism, and Palestinian Student Alliance of MacEwan University, had been scheduled from 1:11 to 3:33 p.m. that day. A joint letter from some of the groups posted online on May 4 argued that the Israel pavilion should not be allowed to participate in the festival, stating, “Our concern is that the Jewish Federation of Edmonton, the organizer of the Israel pavilion, is without question celebrating a state and its government… To be crystal clear, the Federation is using the festival as a vehicle to promote an ethno-supremacist, settler-colonial state now committing genocide; it is also promoting a partisan position forwarded by the current Israeli government.”
According to Stacey Leavitt-Wright, CEO of the Jewish Federation of Edmonton, who was at the pavilion during the attack, the protest escalated in the early afternoon as the crowd grew, a megaphone was used, and chanting became louder. The protest disrupted the pavilion as protesters moved closer to the dance stage.
As the protest grew larger and louder, police officers on bicycles arrived and maintained a presence between the protesters and a group of Jewish community members and local Iranian community members who had come to support the Israel pavilion.
No one was hurt during the incident, and the Edmonton Police Service has yet to issue a media release on the arrest of the man.
We will continue to report on all of these cases. It is important to observe that hate crimes targeting other faith groups are no more acceptable than antisemitic crimes. Although our community is feeling the disproportionate impact of hate crimes, there can be zero tolerance for any crimes targeting vulnerable communities of all descriptions.
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About the Author
Rochelle Direnfeld is ALCCA’s Senior Criminal Counsel. She was called to the Ontario bar in 1990 and has served in the Ontario Public Service for over 32 years as an assistant crown attorney, deputy crown attorney, crown counsel, and finally as Deputy Director for Toronto Crown Attorneys in the Criminal Law Division of the Ministry of the Attorney General. Rochelle retired from public service at the end of 2023. During her career, she prosecuted a wide variety of Criminal Code cases in the Ontario Court of Justice, Superior Court of Justice, and the Ontario Court of Appeal.
Rochelle is also the Chair of the Canadian Criminal Law Working Group, a national initiative bringing together leading criminal lawyers to strengthen the legal response to antisemitic hate crimes and support victims across Canada.
She has also been selected to join the Toronto Police Service Board’s Jewish Community Advisory Table, an initiative aimed at strengthening dialogue and collaboration between the Jewish community and the Toronto Police Service on issues of community safety and policing.