The editor of a Toronto-based publication who was sentenced to jail for promoting hatred against women and Jewish people was arrested earlier this month for allegedly breaching his parole.
In an email to Global News on Tuesday, Toronto police confirmed that James Sears, 58, was arrested on Feb. 3.
Sears, the editor of Your Ward News, was found guilty of two counts of promoting hatred in 2019, and was sentenced to one year in jail.
During the trial, evidence was that the free publication had been distributed over three years to more than 300,000 homes and businesses in the Toronto area as well as online.
It consistently portrayed women as inferior and as inviting rape. It also promoted tropes of Jews drinking the blood of Christian children and denied the Holocaust occurred. Those themes continued even after the trial started, presiding judge Richard Blouin noted.
According to police, the breach in parole was “due to a hate speech.’
Toronto police said Sears was arrested by the provincial Repeat Offender Parole Enforcement Squad, and was transported by Toronto police to the Toronto South Detention Centre.
B’nai Brith Canada said it has been monitoring the case.
In a statement released Tuesday, the organization alleged Sears was re-arrested after reports that he “publicly proposed a gruesome public execution” for Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam.
Michael Mostyn, CEO of B’nai Brith Canada, said the organization was “highly concerned” about Sears’ early release on parole, saying they saw “no evidence of rehabilitation or any remorse on his part.”
“It therefore comes as no surprise that he is alleged to have breached the terms of his parole and was reincarcerated,” Mostyn said in the statement.
“Sears should have served out his full sentence if we really mean to promote the objectives of sentencing, which in this case is deterring horrific hate speech.”
— with files from The Canadian Press
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