No new arrests in two months since Montreal anti-NATO protest turned violent

Montreal police have made no new arrests in the two months since a November anti-NATO protest turned violent, making national headlines. People take part in a protest against NATO in Montreal, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes

MONTREAL — Despite assurances, Montreal police have made no new arrests in the two months since a November anti-NATO protest in the city's downtown turned violent.

The Nov. 22 demonstration made national headlines after protesters smashed windows at a convention centre where a NATO meeting was being held. At least one car was also lit on fire.

Images of the violence sparked outrage across the country, and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau condemned the protesters' actions on social media the following day. "What we saw on the streets of Montreal last night was appalling," he said. "There must be consequences, and rioters held accountable."

Quebec Premier François Legault also put pressure on Montreal police, saying it was urgent that those responsible be arrested. “There must be a very clear message sent to these thugs that they will be punished, they will be arrested, there will be consequences for what they have done,” he said following the protest.

At the time, Montreal police Chief Fady Dagher said he was "very confident" there would be more arrests in the days and weeks following the protest, and that the group responsible had been known to police for years. There was a small number of perpetrators, Dagher said, part of an "extreme-left group" that had "nothing to do" with the pro-Palestinian protesters who attended the Friday evening demonstration.

But Dagher also cautioned that most of the participants wore masks, making it difficult to identify them. Two months later, the promised arrests have not materialized. "The investigation is ongoing," a Montreal police spokesperson said in an email statement.

In December, police released grainy images of six suspects at the protest with their faces covered, and asked for the public's help in identifying them. They said the six people broke windows at the Montreal convention centre, using pieces of concrete and hammers and by punching and kicking the glass.

"The (police are) aware that the images are not of optimal quality, but we have chosen to share them with you because citizens could still recognize an accessory, an item of clothing or a detail linked to one or more of the suspects," the service said in a statement accompanying the photos.

Three people were arrested during the protest, including a 22-year-old woman who was arrested for allegedly obstructing police work and assaulting a police officer, and two men, 22 and 28, who also faced charges for allegedly obstructing police work.

The protest was organized by the group Divest for Palestine and an anti-capitalist group, known as CLAC-Montréal, which opposes NATO in part because of its support for Israel.

Benoît Allard, a spokesperson for Divest for Palestine, said he was among "dozens of people" who were injured by police while protesting peacefully on Nov. 22. "We talked a lot about broken glass, but there were broken bones that night," he said in an interview Tuesday. "We've heard no condemnation of what happened that night on the part of the police."

Allard said police often arrest protesters as an "intimidation tactic," but the charges don't always stick. He said he was arrested when police dismantled a pro-Palestinian encampment in Montreal last summer, but three of the four charges he was facing were later dropped.

The police are trying to paint a picture of a "few bad protesters," Allard said. "But, ultimately, everyone in that movement, we stand in solidarity."

In an anonymous statement posted online after the protest, a group calling itself the “Black Bloc” claimed responsibility for the violence, which it said was part of its fight against capitalism. “There is no more time to stay calm and ask nicely,” the statement said. “Resistance is legitimate, the state and the police can no longer have a monopoly on violence — especially if it is the only language they will hear.”

CLAC-Montréal also published a statement after the event, claiming the only real violence that night was from police. "We respect the diversity of tactics used during our demonstrations and although we had nothing to do with the organization of Friday's destruction, we salute the determination of the comrades who took significant legal risks to remove the mask of social peace," the statement read.

Allard said Divest for Palestine is continuing to organize events, including a training camp for protesters planned for February, despite the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas that took effect on Sunday. "The ceasefire is just a pause, and sooner or later, if we don't address the root causes of oppression in Palestine, the violence will continue," he said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 22, 2025.

Maura Forrest, The Canadian Press