Ottawa youth charged with ‘terrorism’ offences for alleged targeting of Jews

Canadian officials charged a youth in Ottawa with “terrorism” offences over alleged targeting of the Jewish community, police said on Saturday, amid warnings of rising antisemitism from the war in the Middle East.

The suspect was charged with “facilitation of a terrorist activity by communicating instructional material related to an explosive substance” and “knowingly instructing, directly or indirectly, a person to carry out a terrorist activity against Jewish persons,” officials said in a statement on Saturday.

Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe said on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, that “there has been a rise in anti-semitism in Ottawa in recent weeks.”

The arrest happened on Friday and the operation involved cooperation from multiple Canadian security agencies, according to the statement.

Police said the youth’s age prevented further release of information about the suspect or the plot.

Read more: Reuters