Overview
- Ontario Superior Court Justice Anne London-Weinstein sentenced Iain Aspenlieder to 152 days time served, a suspended sentence and two years of probation, with orders not to approach Jewish or Israeli institutions, a firearms prohibition and a victim surcharge.
- The former City of Ottawa lawyer pleaded guilty to mischief after painting “FEED ME” on the National Holocaust Monument on June 9, 2025.
- Aspenlieder was arrested on June 27, 2025 and charged with mischief to a war monument, mischief over $5,000 and harassment by threatening conduct.
- Crown prosecutor Moiz Karimjee sought a two-year sentence, arguing the act harmed the Jewish community, while defence lawyer Michael Spratt maintained the Crown did not prove a hate motive beyond a reasonable doubt.
- Leaders from the Jewish Federation of Ottawa, the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center and the Canadian Antisemitism Education Foundation denounced the outcome and the court’s conclusion that the crime was not hate-motivated.