Man arrested with large butcher's knife outside Premier Doug Ford's home
Leading a province of 14.5 million people can't be easy, nor should it be when there's so much at stake — but no politician should ever have to deal with constituents showing up to their family homes carrying bloody butcher's knives and screaming threats through their front door.
This is exactly what happened to Ontario Premier Doug Ford at his Etobicoke residence on Monday night, according to the Premier's Office. Fortunately, nobody was injured.
"Last night, a man with a large butcher's knife showed up at the Premier's home while yelling threats," said Ford spokesperson Ivana Yelich in a statement Tuesday morning.
"An OPP officer was on site and arrested the man immediately."
Threatening the Premier is abhorrent, and jeopardizes the lives of everyone holding public office. We may have disagreements, but it can never come to this. My thoughts and well wishes are with the Premier after this frightening incident. #onpoli https://t.co/Sy2xd9FtAO
— Steven Del Duca (@StevenDelDuca) June 22, 2021
Neighbours told the Toronto Star that a "visibly upset" man emerged from a car that had come to a screeching halt in front of Ford's home around 7:30 p.m. last night.
The man, said to be brandishing "a blood-splattered butcher's knife," yelled for "several minutes" outside the premier's home, where he lives with his wife and two of their daughters.
Ford himself has yet to publicly comment on the incident, but Yelich said that the premier is grateful for the OPP officer's presence.
"The premier thanks the officer for his quick action and bravery, which resulted in no harm to anyone involved in the incident," she said.
Doug Ford tells protestors to stop going after his neighbours and acting like buffoons https://t.co/uEZMzXQsJC #Toronto #TOpoli #DougFord #ONpoli
— blogTO (@blogTO) November 27, 2020
Police have not yet released any information about the person who was arrested or their alleged motivation for threatening Ford.
This is not the first time the premier has been targeted at his own home, however, since he took office in June of 2018. From affordable housing advocates to aggressive anti-lockdowners, Ford and his neighbours have been subject to several political protests on their street.
In November, at the height of the BBQAnon anti-lockdown movement, Ford lamented that people who took up issue with his government's COVID-19 restrictions had been intimidating and threatening people living on his street.
"You want to protest me? Come down to Queen's Park, you can do cartwheels, you can jump up and down. But there's an unwritten rule here in Canada — you don't go after people's families and neighbours," he said at the time.
"Come after me, don't come after my neighbours."
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