The Independent Press Gallery of Canada (IPGC) has condemned the January 8 incident of a police officer arresting a journalist for what appears to be the most embarrassing assault charge of the century.
The statement follows a viral video from Monday evening showing Rebel News reporter David Menzies asking Canada’s Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland a question on a public sidewalk.
The officer, who wasn’t even dressed in uniform, sneakily stepped in front of Menzies from behind a pole, instigating extremely minor contact between the two men.
The officer then proceeded to arrest Menzies for assault, only later to release him without pressing any charges.
In a strongly worded letter, the IPGC stated: “Rebel News journalist David Menzies was attempting to question Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland on her way into a Richmond Hill event when he was arrested by a police officer who refused to give his name and badge number when asked.”
“Video filmed by Menzies’ camera operator appears to show Menzies angling away from a barrier and the police officer. The video also appears to show the officer extending his arm to block Menzies, which is a far cry from his accusation that Menzies assaulted him.
The statement continued: “Police are there to uphold the law and public safety, not to prevent politicians from being asked questions by journalists who the government will not permit to ask questions in official settings.”
The IPGC further called on police “to cease the practice of arresting working journalists who are not posing a threat to public safety or breaking the law.”
The incident has received international attention
At the time of publication, the video has been seen 8.4 million times on the X platform alone.
Chaya Raichik, the American creator of Libs of TikTok (social media account with 2.7 million followers), posted: “Holy sh*t! Trudeau’s goons are arresting journalists for asking questions.”
X and Tesla CEO Elon Musk commented: “Fine for the officer to body block someone trying to get close to a senior government official, but false to say that he deliberately assaulted an officer.” Musk also predicted that Trudeau would “not make it past the next election.”
Conservative Party of Canada leader Pierre Poilievre also chimed in on the viral incident, suggesting the police have been corrupted by the Trudeau Government.
“This is the state of freedom of the press. In Canada. In 2024. After 8 years of Trudeau,” he said.
