A sentencing hearing for a former city lawyer
who pleaded guilty to vandalizing
the National Holocaust Monument is expected on Monday morning, more than five months after he was arrested and charged.
On June 9, Ottawa residents woke up to news that the memorial at 1918 Chaudière Crossing had been defaced with the words “FEED ME” in red paint.
Iain Aspenlieder was
arrested on June 27 and charged
with mischief to a war monument, mischief exceeding $5,000 and harassment by threatening conduct.
Aspenlieder’s lawyer, Michael Spratt, said his client pleaded guilty to one count of mischief for defacing the Holocaust memorial and was released on bail pending sentencing.
Court documents said surveillance cameras captured Aspenlieder arriving at the monument on a bike at 2:59 a.m. on June 9. He was carrying bags containing paint cans, and video footage showed him throwing the cans at the monument and using a paintbrush to write “FEED ME” on it. He fled the scene at 3:08 a.m.
A red handprint was also left at the scene, which Aspenlieder later admitted was his.
At the time of his arrest, Aspenlieder was wearing a shirt that had red paint on it. He told police he was wearing “incriminating evidence.” Police also seized a backpack, a Palestinian flag, a floral cap and running shoes, all with red paint on them.
Aspenlieder told police he accepted responsibility for his actions, but refused to provide information about his beliefs and ideologies. He also didn’t disclose where he left the paintbrush.
Aspenlieder denied having any mental health disorders.
During a bail hearing on June 28, the court heard that Aspenlieder was participating in a hunger strike until Prime Minister Mark Carney called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a “war criminal” who was “complicit in a genocide.”
Justice of the Peace Stephen Louis Dibblee said the painted message “FEED ME” lacked context and appeared to represent Aspenlieder’s pronouncement of his hunger strike as “he takes a radical means of voicing his position on the (Israel-Palestinian) conflict.”
The City of Ottawa
previously confirmed that it had fired Aspenlieder
, who worked there as legal counsel, and that he was on leave at the time of the incident.
— With files from Sadeen Mohsen
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