Three Antifa members have been arrested for intimidation, assault and other crimes during a Maxime Bernier campaign rally in Hamilton. Among them was Alaa Al Soufi, the son of the owner of the Toronto restaurant “Soufi’s”.
At the campaign event, Al Soufi was identified as one of several people who harassed an elderly woman with a walker. Al Soufi has had several charges brought against him, including disguise with intent, causing a disturbance and two counts of intimidation.
As reported by True North’s Candice Malcolm, Soufi is a Syrian refugee who moved to Canada in December 2015. His arrival coincides with Justin Trudeau’s Syrian refugee program which accepted around 25,000 refugees from the war-torn country with little security screening.
Videos show several masked Antifa members screaming and blocking the path of 81-year old Dorothy Marston and her husband who were trying to attend the Bernier event featuring David Rubin.
“A black-masked and rage-filled youth decided to scream as loudly as possible in her ear that she was a Nazi,” said Marston’s son about the incident.
“Once inside, my mother complained of having trouble hearing in that ear which was particularly cruel since we were attending an event that required us to listen to ideas,” said the son.
Two other men have also been arrested for their involvement in the violent protest, including 33-year old Kevin Metcalf and 30-year old Maximiliano Herrera. Police are saying that one man and one woman were assaulted at the event by Antifa and are asking the public for more information.
Shortly after the incident, the Soufi family alleged that they were targeted by threats of violence for their son’s behaviour and were forced to close their restaurant. However, the restaurant reopened just a few days later.
“As a result of numerous hate messages and death threats we’ve received over the past week, we’ve decided to permanently close our shop. Our decision is made with a heavy heart in effort to maintain our family and staff’s safety,” said an original statement by the owners.
The Soufi restaurant has since received support from the CEO of Paramount Fine Foods Mohamad Fakih, who offered to pay for security and send his own staff to work at the restaurant.
Toronto Mayor John Tory also visited the restaurant after its reopening alongside city councillor Joe Cressy.
The restaurant also had its food served on the official Liberal campaign bus prior to the election as a result of the publicity.
