The Parliament Hill Peace Tower is framed in an iron fence on Wellington Street in Ottawa on Thursday, March 12, 2020. A 19-year-old Ottawa man has been arrested for allegedly posting numerous threatening tweets targeted at Parliament Hill, the Department of National Defence and two embassies. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
OTTAWA – A 19-year-old Ottawa man is facing charges for allegedly posting threatening tweets targeted at Parliament Hill, the Department of National Defence and the embassies of China and the United States.
In a media release, the RCMP said its Integrated National Security Enforcement Team was notified on Nov. 8 of “death and terrorism-related threats” issued by a Twitter user.
Daniel Houde was charged with four counts each of a terrorist hoax, threatening to cause death or bodily harm to a person and threatening to burn, damage and destroy property.
A spokesperson for the RCMP’s Ontario division said in an email that the threat targeting the Defence Department was “not directed at a specific unit,” and the same Twitter post mentioned the U.S. Pentagon.
Police said Houde was taken into custody, then released on the condition that he must notify them of any change of address, employment or occupation, and that he must not be within 50 metres of Parliament Hill or the U.S. or Chinese embassies or communicate with their staff.
Houde is set to appear in an Ottawa courtroom on Jan. 18.
The RCMP said all threats are taken seriously, including those made on social media.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 3, 2023.
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This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Meta and Canadian Press News Fellowship.
