A pro-Palestinian demonstrator has been charged with terrorism over his alleged actions in association with Hamas, Toronto police said Wednesday.
Ahmad Hassan Hajahmad, 33, was arrested following a joint investigation by the Toronto police hate crime unit and the RCMP national security team.
He appeared in court on Tuesday.
In a statement, the Toronto Police Service said that between May 25 and Sept. 7, 2024, Hajahmad attended pro-Palestinian demonstrations in downtown Toronto.
Using a microphone, Hajahmad made public statements that advocated for โharm against members of the Israeli and Jewish communities,โ police said.
Police said they searched his residence on March 7, 2025, and seized โmultiple electronic devices.โ
The evidence supported โthe allegation that the accused acted for the benefit of, and in association with, Hamas, a designated terrorist group,โ police added.
The Ontario and federal attorneys general approved the charge on July 20.
Hajahmad faces one count of participating in or contributing to activities of a terrorist group. If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in prison.
The case against Hajahmad makes the rare alleged link between pro-Palestinian protests and the Hamas terrorist organization.
But Hajahmadโs lawyer, Mohamed El Rashidy, said his client had โno connection to Hamas or any other foreign group.โ
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El Rashidy said that while Toronto police said Hajahmad had advocated hatred and harm, he was not charged with such offenses.
โHe faces a single charge arising from speaking at public demonstrations. No violence, no weapon, no one harmed,โ the lawyer said.
โSpeaking out at a protest about the killing of civilians is protected expression, not terrorism,โ he added. โWeโll be looking closely at how and why this case came to be, and weโre confident it wonโt hold up when measured against the law.โ
Hamas is โa radical Islamist-nationalist terrorist organization,โ according to the Public Safety Canada website. It is on Canadaโs list of designated terror groups.
On Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas gunmen crossed into Israel and killed more than 800 civilians, including Canadian citizens. The Israeli military response killed tens of thousands of Palestinians.
Toronto Police Chief Myron Demkiw said his officersย worked closely with the RCMPโs Integrated National Security Enforcement Team โto pursue the terrorism charge warranted by the investigation.โ
โInvestigations into criminal offences committed at demonstrations do not end when the event is over,โ he said.
โThese complex investigations underscore the importance of continuing to strengthen our Counter Terrorism Security Unit so we can identify and investigate evolving threats to public safety.โ
Hajahmad scheduled to return to the Armoury court in Toronto on Aug. 26.
The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs said police and national security agencies must have adequate counter-terrorism resources โto enforce the law and keep Canadians safe.โ
โThis is essential for Canada to prevent the kind of deadly terrorist attacks that have been carried out in the U.S., UK and Australia โ particularly in light of recent reports detailing Hamas terror cells operating across Europe,โ the Jewish advocacy group said.
โGovernments and authorities across Canada must do more to confront those who are radicalizing people in our streets to support violence and promote terrorist organizations.โย
Hate crimes targeting Canadaโs Jewish community spiked following the 2023 Hamas attack, but dipped last year.
According to figures released by Statistics Canada on Wednesday, Jews were the victims of 71 per cent of the religious hate crimes in 2025.
But acts of antisemitism have increased again since the U.S. and Israel began airstrikes on Iran on Feb. 28.
Stewart.Bell@globalnews.ca
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