Advertisement

Violent political lawn sign warns of shooting Liberals in Ottawa-area riding

The Liberal candidate for the Kanata-Carleton riding tweeted this image of a threatening lawn sign early Monday morning.
The Liberal candidate for the Kanata-Carleton riding tweeted this image of a threatening lawn sign early Monday morning. Karen McCrimmon / Twitter

Liberal candidate for Kanata-Carleton Karen McCrimmon says “politics should be civil” after a threatening lawn sign was found in the riding saying Liberals will be shot.

McCrimmon tweeted a photo of the sign early Monday morning.

In the photo, the apparently handwritten sign, which reads: “We shoot every 3rd Liberal 2nd one just left,” can be seen next to a sign for Conservative candidate Justina McCaffrey.

Story continues below advertisement

“OK… I must admit to struggling with this but I decided that by being silent I would not do right by my team or by my beliefs that politics should be civil,” McCrimmon wrote. “When we see an example of intolerance or suggestions of violence, we must challenge them.”

McCrimmon is the Liberal incumbent for the riding and a Canadian veteran who served in Afghanistan.

In a subsequent tweet, she said she wore a “flak jacket in Afghanistan to help secure the people there, the right to vote.”

“Damned if I would allow this to pass unchallenged,” she added.

For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen.

Get breaking National news

For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen.
By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.

READ MORE: Liberals trying to distract by tweeting 2013 video of candidate with Faith Goldy, Scheer says

In a statement emailed to Global News on Monday, a spokesperson for McCrimmon said the sign was located in the western part of the riding on Sunday afternoon and that the campaign “takes incidents of this nature very seriously and has alerted the local police for their review.”

In an email to Global News on Monday, Ottawa Police confirmed that officers received a call for service at around 6 p.m. on Sunday and said “the matter is under investigation.”

In a tweet Monday, McCaffrey said she “couldn’t agree more” with McCrimmon.

Story continues below advertisement

“Threats of political violence have no place in our democracy,” she wrote. “I’ve instructed my campaign to remove our sign from this property.”

https://twitter.com/JustinaCPC/status/1176110499882311680

In an email to Global News Monday afternoon, McCaffrey said as soon as she became aware of the handmade sign, her campaign sign was removed from the property.

“Nobody should be threatened with violence for their political beliefs,” she wrote. “I absolutely condemn this sign.”

The news comes just a week after McCaffrey faced harsh criticism following a video tweeted by a Liberal candidate in which McCaffrey appears to be pitching a reality TV show with far-right political activist Faith Goldy.

WATCH: Scheer asked about PC candidate’s association with Faith Goldy

Click to play video: 'Federal Election 2019: Scheer asked about PC candidate’s association with Faith Goldy'
Federal Election 2019: Scheer asked about PC candidate’s association with Faith Goldy

In a statement issued by the Conservative party, McCaffrey said the video with Goldy was from 2013 and that she hasn’t seen Goldy “in several years.”

Story continues below advertisement

Election signs defaced

Meanwhile, another Ottawa-area candidate reported having a number of his campaign signs damaged over the weekend.

“My team and I were sad and disappointed to see the damage done to my election signs all over our riding this weekend,” wrote Chris Rodgers, Liberal candidate for Carleton, in a Facebook post on Sunday.

Rodgers said his signs had been cut down, run over and covered in mud.

“These deliberate acts of vandalism have been reported to the Ottawa police,” he wrote.

Advertisement

Sponsored content

AdChoices