Criminal charges against seven people who were arrested during a sit-in at the office of a member of parliament last fall have been dropped due to what the Crown called a “lack of public interest,” according to multiple people who attended the court proceedings.
All eight protesters were originally charged with forcible entry, unlawful assembly, mischief and obstructing a peace officer. One arrestee still faces charges of mischief and obstruction.
Rachelle Friesen of the Legal Support Committee (LSC) — a collective that supports people arrested in the Greater Toronto Area for organizing and protesting for the liberation of Palestine. — tells The Grind that the news is unsurprising and fits into a larger trend. Toronto Police Service (TPS), Friesen says, have consistently “overcharged” people involved with pro-Palestine protests, “and then have the Crown figure it out later.”
The arrests occurred last October at the Toronto office of Liberal MP Karim Bardeesy, who represents the riding of Taiaiako’n—Parkdale—High Park. This was during a wave of protests over Israel’s kidnapping of dozens of people at sea, including Indigenous harm reduction worker and advocate Mskwaasin Agnew, along with five other people living in Canada. Agnew and others were travelling in international waters as part of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition in an attempt to break Israel’s illegal blockade of Gaza when they were intercepted by the Israeli military.
On Oct. 8, 2025, hundreds of protesters in Toronto took to the streets, demanding that the federal government intervene to have Agnew and others released, and to call for an end to the siege on Gaza. Toronto police arrested nine protesters, and charged them with three counts each. Those charges were dropped by the Crown in January.
A day later, on Oct. 9, dozens of protesters staged a sit-in at the Toronto office of Liberal MP Karim Bardeesy, who represents the riding where Agnew lives, demanding that the federal government take action.
According to the defendants, one of Bardeesy’s staff opened the door of the office and the protesters entered. Videos posted to social media show protesters inside the office, chanting “no justice, no peace.”
After receiving a 911 call from one of Bardeesy’s staff, the police entered the office and assessed the situation before dragging out and arresting eight people.
Police later released a statement saying that 30 to 40 people “forced their way” into the office, and refused to leave. The eight arrestees were held for several hours and were each charged with forcible entry, unlawful assembly, mischief and obstructing a peace officer.
Six weeks later, the Crown Attorney’s office communicated to the arrestees that it was unclear if the charges would be pursued, according to a statement by the LSC. After months of back and forth between legal counsel and the Crown, some conditions and charges were removed, and the Crown promised to withdraw the rest of the charges, provided that the arrestees remain “on good behaviour.”
This week, nine months after the arrests took place, the charges were fully withdrawn for seven of the eight protesters.
Over-policing or reasonable response?
Police spokesperson Stephanie Sayer maintains that the “officers had reasonable grounds to lay charges” against the eight protesters on Oct. 9, as per a statement sent to The Grind.
“The Crown may ultimately decide not to proceed with charges for a variety of reasons and cases can be resolved in different ways,” Sayer says. “A decision to withdraw charges does not mean the conduct was lawful, that the arrests were improper, or that police lacked reasonable grounds to lay charges in the first place.
Charges against pro-Palestine protesters in Toronto have rarely resulted in convictions.
According to data compiled by the LSC, approximately 178 people have been arrested as a result of Palestine solidarity actions since October 2023. Only two arrests have resulted in convictions, while the charges against 114 arrestees have been withdrawn.
Despite these numbers, Toronto police have faced heavy political pressure to crackdown on the movement. Last December, Ontario Solicitor General Michael Kerzner sent a letter to TPS calling on them to take action against “hate, intimidation and harassment-motivated offences” in the city, singling out Palestine demonstrations.
That same month, Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow appeared on a radio show to discuss the Palestine movement, where she asked why the police can’t “arrest more and charge more.”
Legal experts worry that this type of pressure has encouraged TPS to criminalize protest movements, and erode the Charter-protected rights to protest.
Michael DeForge, an illustrator and occasional contributor to The Grind, was among the seven arrestees who had their charges withdrawn.
“That it took this long for (the charges) to be scuttled shows that the Crown and Toronto Police Service are clearly willing to arbitrarily pursue and drop cases to score political points,” DeForge tells The Grind.
When the charges against nine protesters who were arrested at a downtown protest a day before the Bardeesy Eight sit-in were dropped this January, that news was met “with outrage from the Zionist lobby, followed by a lot of finger pointing between the mayor, police and Crown,” DeForge says.
“That’s why they strung the batch of us along with some charges they knew wouldn’t stick,” he believes. “To get some political cover, and bog down arrestees with legal costs and bail conditions for as long as possible.”
DeForge also notes that he took part in a “near identical” action at MP Arif Virani’s office in Oct. 2023. Though he and others were ticketed by police, they were not given criminal charges.
Sayer, the TPS spokesperson, denied that the arrests were arbitrary or politically motivated, saying that this suggestion “ignores how the criminal justice system actually works.”
“Police decide whether there are reasonable grounds to lay charges,” Sayer said. “The Crown independently decides whether those charges proceed. Those are separate decisions made by separate parties.”
“Peaceful protest is a fundamental democratic right, and the Toronto Police Service facilitates thousands of demonstrations each year,” Sayer added. “However, that right does not extend to criminal conduct.”
The Ministry of the Attorney General did not respond to The Grind’s requests for comment.
