Ontario MPP Randy Hillier tweet alleged to 'incite violence' being reviewed by police
Ontario PC MPP Randy Hillier scrums with reporters following the Throne Speech at the Ontario Legislature in Toronto on Monday, March 19, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young
TORONTO -
Toronto police have confirmed that a report has been filed regarding a now-unavailable tweet by Independent MPP Randy Hillier that appears to encourage people to tar and feather politicians returning to legislature.
NDP MPP for Toronto Centre, Suze Morrison, posted numerous screengrabs of comments published by Hillier on Oct. 2.
In the series of tweets, the Lanark-Frontenac-Kingston MPP says a “cultural war” is underway “between those who desire and aspire to collective dishonesty and evil vs those who defend individual faith and freedom.”
A separate tweet encourages Ontario residents to “bring a pot of boiling tar and a case of feathers” to the legislature when it reopens.
“Each politician who arrives deserves both a tar and feathering,” the tweet says while tagging Premier Doug Ford, Government House Leader Paul Calandra and PC MPP Steve Clark.
The tweet itself is no longer available on Hillier’s social media profile. It appears to either have been deleted by Hillier or it was blocked by Twitter. Hillier’s profile has one blocked tweet either posted on Oct. 1 or Oct. 2.
A tweet by Ontario MPP Randy Hillier has been blocked by Twitter
CTV News Toronto has contacted Hillier for comment but has received no reply.
In sharing the tweet, Morrison says that Hillier is inciting violence.
“This is unbelievable dangerous,” she says.
On Monday, the Toronto Police Service confirmed a police report related to the messages is “in the system.”
Ontario Provincial Police have also told CTV News Toronto that they are “aware of the online comments and are reviewing the matter.”
Hillier was a member of the Progressive Conservative Party until he was ousted in 2019. He has since been a vocal opponent of lockdown measures, mandatory vaccinations, and mask wearing throughout the pandemic.
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