Man arrested after joint police and RCMP investigation

A 33-year-old Toronto man has been charged with a terrorism offence over statements he allegedly made at pro-Palestinian demonstrations downtown, in a case police say links his conduct to Hamas.

Ahmad Hassan Hajahmad faces one count of participating in or contributing to the activities of a terrorist group, an offence that carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. Toronto police said Wednesday that he was arrested following a joint investigation involving the force's hate crime unit and the RCMP's Integrated National Security Enforcement Team.

According to a statement from the Toronto Police Service, Hajahmad attended pro-Palestinian demonstrations in downtown Toronto between May 25 and Sept. 7, 2024, where he used a microphone to make public statements that advocated for "harm against members of the Israeli and Jewish communities."

Police said officers searched his residence on March 7, 2025, and seized multiple electronic devices. The evidence gathered, according to the statement, supported the allegation that the accused "acted for the benefit of, and in association with, Hamas, a designated terrorist group." The Ontario and federal attorneys general approved the charge on July 20.

Defence lawyer says case is about protected expression

Hajahmad's lawyer, Mohamed El Rashidy, said his client has "no connection to Hamas or any other foreign group."

"He faces a single charge arising from speaking at public demonstrations. No violence, no weapon, no one harmed," El Rashidy told Global News.

Speaking out at a protest about the killing of civilians is protected expression, not terrorism. We'll be looking closely at how and why this case came to be, and we're confident it won't hold up when measured against the law.

El Rashidy also noted that while police said Hajahmad advocated hatred and harm, he was not charged with hate-related offences.

Chief points to counter-terrorism unit expansion

Toronto Police Chief Myron Demkiw said officers worked closely with the RCMP "to pursue the terrorism charge warranted by the investigation."

Investigations into criminal offences committed at demonstrations do not end when the event is over.

Demkiw added that the case underscores the importance of strengthening the force's Counter Terrorism Security Unit "so we can identify and investigate evolving threats to public safety."

Hamas, which Public Safety Canada describes as a radical Islamist-nationalist terrorist organization, has been on Canada's list of designated terror groups for years. Its Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel killed more than 800 civilians, including Canadian citizens, and the Israeli military response that followed killed tens of thousands of Palestinians.

Community response and hate crime figures

The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs said police and national security agencies need adequate resources "to enforce the law and keep Canadians safe," and urged governments across Canada to do more to confront those promoting terrorist organizations.

Statistics Canada figures released Wednesday show Jewish people were the victims of 71 per cent of religious hate crimes in the country in 2025. Hate crimes targeting the Jewish community spiked after the 2023 Hamas attack, dipped last year, and have risen again since the United States and Israel began airstrikes on Iran on Feb. 28.

Hajahmad is scheduled to return to the Armoury court in Toronto on Aug. 26.