Duelling protests took over Nathan Phillips Square in Toronto
Toronto narrowly avoided a close call this weekend as competing rallies faced off in Nathan Phillips Square―despite a supposed cancellation from one side.
Far-right racist demo in #Toronto a complete failure. Anti-racists reclaim Nathan Phillips Square from fascists and Islamophobes. Report and photos linked here: https://t.co/gln8PKIOgd #topoli #onpoli #cdnpoli Solidarity with #ShutItDownDC and #Charlottesvillelockdown protesters! pic.twitter.com/OSR3KJnoAo
— Jaggi Singh (@JaggiMontreal) August 11, 2018
Saturday was initially scheduled for an Islamophobic rally by a hate group based in Calgary. The group hoped to "celebrate" the one-year anniversary of the deadly Charlottesville riots in the U.S., where a man who identified as Neo-Nazi murdered a young woman.
Some great signs from the counter-protest in Nathan Phillips Square today. #AntiFacism #AntiBigotry #AntiRacism pic.twitter.com/huAascS6Gp
— Teena Joyce (@teenajoyce85) August 12, 2018
In a Facebook post mere days before the event was scheduled to take place, the group announced the cancellation.
The hate groups cancelled their rally with a hilariously pathetic Facebook post (see below), so there will be #NOCharlottesvilleInTO!!! LOVE WON! LET'S CELEBRATE IT, NEIGHBOURS! I'll be at Nathan Phillips Square this Saturday to stand against white supremacy. #TorontoAgainstHate https://t.co/LGgc2eMJKx
— Elizabeth Page-Gould (@page_gould) August 9, 2018
However, counter-protests that were organized to drown out the anti-Islam message stayed vigilant and showed up anyway―just in case.
On Saturday, a handful of the original group showed up, standing behind police guards in the square. They were quickly drowned out by hundreds of counter-protestors.
Are there like...just two guys pic.twitter.com/y4BHomOesn
— neville park (@neville_park) August 11, 2018
According to some reports, there was some violence that broke out between different groups, as well as among the police and media.
Yesterday at Nathan Phillips Square, there was a huge antifa showing against a few lowly fascists. Cops claimed that the fash were "almost lynched". This was the worst of it basically. He got hit by a couple water bottles and endured yelling. #racistsnotwelcome #Toronto #antifa pic.twitter.com/Bd21nifVC7
— Lacey Artemis 🌙 (@artemis_creates) August 12, 2018
Not much has been confirmed, but no serious reports have come in, leaving Toronto significantly luckier than Charlottesville.
One incident that occurred was a Toronto Sun photographer being punched by an unknown man. However, most video reports show the square being peaceful, albeit a little tense.
The original hate group announced the event was not cancelled, merely postponed. Toronto may be in for the hate rally eventually, but the city seems ready to rally and reject their message when necessary.
