The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) has arrested two Ottawa teenagers who allegedly planned to bomb a pro-Israel demonstration on Parliament Hill, according to newly revealed documents obtained by Global News.
The teenagers, who cannot be named due to their age in accordance with Canadian law, were taken into custody in separate arrests - one in December and another in February - in connection with what authorities described as a terrorist plot targeting Ottawa's Jewish community.
According to new court documents quoted by Global News, the two “are alleged to have formed a plan last fall to violently attack Jewish persons in Ottawa, possibly through the detonation of an explosive device at a pro-Israel rally."
The investigation found that one suspect had materials commonly used in explosive devices, including acetone, oxidizer and metal ball bearings.
Intelligence reports indicate the plot had connections to the Islamic State (ISIS) terrorist organization and may have been influenced by the Hamas October 7, 2023 attacks on Israel.
"Although radicalization of these individuals reportedly began prior to the October 2023 Hamas attack, at least one of the individuals was reportedly in contact with DAESH overseas and the arrests occurred during a period of DAESH calls to violence in response to the conflict," the Integrated Terrorism Assessment Centre said, using the Arabic acronym for ISIS.
The first arrest occurred on December 15, with charges including terrorism offenses and instructing someone to target Jewish people, according to Global News. Additional charges of murder conspiracy followed. The youth's father, who had previously attempted to prevent his son's radicalization through meetings with an imam, had made controversial social media posts about Zionists and Jews, including suggestions about removing Israelis.
The second suspect was apprehended on February 15 and faces three terrorism charges, including conspiracy to commit murder and attempting to obtain prohibited firearms.
The report of the intentions of the two comes amid a spike in incidents of antisemitism in Canada since October 7, 2023. The majority of these incidents have been in Montreal and Toronto, but also in other Canadian cities.
This past August, bomb threats were sent via email to more than 100 Jewish institutions across Canada. The threats were investigated as a hate crime.