Man who allegedly sent death threats to Patrick Brown and his family arrested

A 29-year-old man has been arrested by Peel police after making death threats against Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown

Peel police have arrested a man who allegedly made a death threat against Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown and his family last month.

In a news release, police said 29-year-old Kanwarjyot Singh Manoria was taken into custody on Tuesday and charged with uttering threats to cause death or bodily harm.

A source familiar with the investigation previously told CP24 that the threat was made via email to the mayor’s office, and that his wife and son were also mentioned.

Speaking to Newstalk 1010 on Wednesday, Brown said the suspect allegedly used a server based in Sweden to mask his IP address. In a subsequent interview with CP24, Brown said the suspect allegedly claimed to be a “professional overseas criminal” who told him to leave his position in Brampton or he, his wife and his son would be killed.

“They were death threats, saying that I was making them very angry. I’m outspoken on a number of issues that relate to public safety and so the Peel police had concerns that it came on the heels of one of my public statements and so they took it seriously,” he said.

The mayor said he doesn’t know the suspect and it’s unclear why he and his family were targeted.

Brown said police were initially concerned that the threat may have been triggered after he called on the federal government in June to label the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, an India-based group linked to a number of criminal activities which he said has entrenched itself in Peel Region, as a terrorist organization.

Police haven’t said what may have motivated the alleged death threat, but the source confirmed it was not related to his vocal support for the Tamil community.

“At this time, investigators believe the individual acted alone and is no longer an active threat to the mayor, his family or the community,” police said on Wednesday.

A security detail was deployed to protect Brown’s home and family as a result of the threat and the mayor said police provided him with a photo of the suspect prior to Tuesday’s arrest.

Singh Manoria was arrested following the execution of search warrants and the seizure of electronic devices. Police have not yet scanned those electronic devices for evidence to determine a motive, Brown said.

Brown calls targeting of his five-year-old son ‘egregious’

Brown thanked Peel police for their investigative efforts and told Newstalk 1010 that he was relieved an arrest had been made.

The mayor said he previously received a death threat while holding mayoral office four or five years ago and that police supplied him with a security detail at that time as well.

However, he said in this case, the fact that his son was also targeted was “egregious.”

“The reason this one was a little bit more alarming was because the target wasn’t just myself. You know, I signed up to put my name on the ballot and be in public life and go on radio shows and TV shows, but my family didn’t sign up to be exposed to that too,” he said.

“My son is only five years old. You know, it’s certainly egregious that he’d have to worry about his own safety too.”

Singh Manoria was held in custody pending a bail hearing.