The Toronto office of Ontario New Democratic Party (NDP) Leader Marit Stiles was vandalized on Tuesday, one day after she removed a party lawmaker from caucus over comments she made on social media about the Israel-Hamas war.
The office, located at Bloor Street, was seen defaced with the words “Free Palestine. Blood is on your hands.” Stiles’ photo is covered in what appears to be red paint, according to CityNews.
“I saw it when I was coming in today. I don’t know who did it or what happened,” Stiles told CityNews. “Nobody is hurt. My staff are fine, we’ll make the necessary reports.”
The incident occurred one day after Stiles announced that NDP lawmaker Sarah Jama was removed from caucus in the wake of a social media post she made about the Israel-Hamas war.
Jama caused an uproar after she posted a statement to X in which she called for an immediate ceasefire as well as an "end to all occupation of Palestinian land."
Jama also said in her statement that "violence and retaliation rooted in settler colonialism have taken the lives of far too many innocent people" while failing to mention the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel which resulted in the deaths of over 1,400 people.
She later posted an apology online but did not retract the original statement. Stiles responded to Jama’s comments, saying her message was not approved by her caucus and asked her to retract it.
Jama has come under fire in the past over her support for the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movements.
At the time, the NDP stood by Jama, with Stiles describing her as a leading disability justice advocate.