An RCMP officer (L) pushes Rebel News reporter David Menzies as he tells him he is under arrest, in Richmond Hill, Ont., on Jan. 8, 2024.(Screenshot/Rebel News Video)
Ms. Freeland remains silent as Mr. Menzies walks alongside her, still asking questions while holding his microphone. The video then shows a man in plain clothes intercepting and blocking Mr. Menzies, who says, “Excuse me, what are you doing?”
The man, who later identifies himself as a police officer, is then shown grappling with and pushing Mr. Menzies, then telling him he’s under arrest as other officers surround them.
“Police, you’re under arrest for assault,” the officer says while grabbing Mr. Menzies’s arm.
“How am I under arrest? You bumped into me,” Mr. Menzies replies.
The officer tells him, “You pushed into me.”
“I was just scrumming [Ms. Freeland],” Mr. Menzies answers, pointing to a Rebel News lanyard around his neck. “I’ve got my credentials here and you just bumped into me.”
To which the officer repeats, “Police. You are under arrest for pushing me.”
Mr. Menzies repeatedly asks the officer for his name and badge number, until a second officer speaks to him, saying, “Come on, you’ve been told you’re under arrest. Come on over here [unintelligible].”
The video latter shows Mr. Menzies, still holding his microphone, talking to the second officer, as the first one stands to the side. The second officer says, “You were very aggressive [unintelligible],” to which Mr. Menzies responds, “You mean I was asking questions aggressively?”
The officer says, “No no, your actions were, you were almost pushing everybody over.”
Mr. Menzies responds, “That’s an absolute falsehood,” and confirms with his cameraman that he had captured what transpired on video.
“That’s how it appeared,” the officer replies.
“So now it appeared that way, that’s what you’re saying, officer? It appeared I was pushing people? I didn’t touch a single person,” Mr. Menzies says.
“That was a little bit aggressive for what was happening,” the officer says, and asks Mr. Menzies to get the microphone “out of my face,” telling him that he is under arrest.
Mr. Menzies is then handcuffed by uniformed York Regional Police officers and taken to a police car.
Rebel News publisher Ezra Levant told The Epoch Times that the outlet is likely going to take legal action against police for the arrest.
“We are still finalizing our response, but I believe it is likely we will sue the RCMP and the York Regional Police for false arrest, false imprisonment, and assault,” Mr. Levant said. He added that Rebel is crowdfunding to cover the legal fees.
The Epoch Times contacted the RCMP and the York Regional Police for comment but didn’t immediately hear back.
Mr. Menzies was released without charges later in the day, Rebel News confirmed.
Reactions
The video of the arrest was widely circulated on social media, with politicians and celebrities in both Canada and the United States commenting on the incident.
“The intervention here by police is unwarranted / egregious.”
The Epoch Times contacted the offices of the prime minister and the deputy prime minister for comment but didn’t immediately hear back.
Tech mogul Elon Musk also commented on the issue, saying that Mr. Menzies didn’t assault the officer.