Rebel News claims ownership of van, billboard under investigation by Toronto police hate crimes unit

Rebel News has claimed ownership of a cube van that police say has been seen driving around Toronto displaying Islamophobic messaging.

In a post on social media Thursday, founder Ezra Levant said the media group is under investigation for running the ads on their company van.

The videos, displayed on the billboard and later shared on social media, ask “Is this Yemen? Is this Syria? Is this Iraq?” before showing images of people in prayer. “Wake up Canada. You are under siege,” it then reads.

On Wednesday, the Toronto Police Service confirmed its hate crime unit was investigating the incident.

Amira Elghawaby, the federal government’s special representative on combatting Islamophobia, called the incident “threatening and dangerous” in a statement made Wednesday, claiming it goes beyond free speech and has stoked fear within the Muslim community.

More to come.