HALIFAX — A terrorism-related charge has been laid against a man already facing two lesser offences for allegedly making a bomb threat against the U.S. Consulate in Halifax, which shut down a large section of the city’s downtown. A federal prosecutor told Halifax provincial court Wednesday that the RCMP had charged 54-year-old Ali Assakereh under a section of the federal Criminal Code that deals with threats against internationally protected people, which includes diplomats. Federal lawyer Lee-Ann Conrod said that section also refers to another section of the code that applies to those accused of committing a violent attack on an official premises, endangering the life of a protected person. That offence carries a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison. “It does fall within the definition of a terrorism offence…and as a terrorist activity under the (Criminal Code),” Conrod said outside the courtroom. Assakereh, a Halifax resident, was initially charged on Aug. 11 with uttering threats and public mischief after Halifax Regional Police also accused him of placing a propane tank and flammable liquids in his car before parking it near the consulate on the city’s waterfront. The original charges each carry a maximum sentence of five years in prison. Assakereh, a balding man with a scruffy, grey beard, appeared in the courtroom wearing a grey sweatshirt and grey sweatpants. He listened to the proceedings with the help of an interpreter who spoke Farsi, the language mainly spoken in Iran. Wednesday marked the fourth time Assakereh’s bail hearing was adjourned with little discussion about bail, aside from Conrod saying the Crown was opposed to releasing the accused. It was also the fourth time Assakereh consented to remaining in custody. Legal aid lawyer Bernie Thibault told the court he needed more time to draft a bail plan. Judge Ann Marie Simmons agreed to schedule another bail hearing for Aug. 26. Police have confirmed they learned about the bomb threat on Aug. 9 and found the suspect’s vehicle parked near the consulate the next morning at 8:10 a.m. Assakereh was arrested 25 minutes later in the city’s west end, not far from his Halifax home. By 2 p.m., an explosives expert determined the propane and liquids in Assakereh’s car posed no threat to public safety and all evacuation orders were lifted. The alleged bomb threat came less than a week after two suspects were charged with shooting at the U.S. Consulate in Toronto in July -- the second such incident at the building this year. A 19-year-old man and a 15-year-old boy are facing more than a dozen charges. The consulate in Toronto was previously targeted on March 10, when two suspects allegedly fired multiple shots at the building. An 18-year-old and a 19-year-old are facing multiple charges. No one was injured in either shooting. By Michael MacDonald This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 19, 2026.
