On February 21, 2024, Bezhani Sarvar, a 28-year-old man already facing charges related to a January shooting incident at Edmonton City Hall, has now been charged with additional terrorism-related offences. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) announced that Sarvar faces charges for counselling the commission of a terrorism offence and possession of property for terrorist purposes. These charges complement the existing ones, which are considered terrorism offences under sections 2, 83.01(1)(b), and 83.27 of the Criminal Code of Canada, including intentionally causing damage by fire or explosion, possession of incendiary material, use of a firearm during an indictable offence, and several others.
Sarvar is currently detained at the Calgary Remand Centre, with his next court appearance scheduled for Tuesday. The incident at City Hall on January 23, which involved gunfire and the throwing of a Molotov cocktail but resulted in no physical injuries, prompted a swift response from Edmonton Police. The investigation revealed that Sarvar, who previously worked as a security guard, entered City Hall armed and discharged a firearm primarily on the second floor.
The day following the shooting, it was confirmed that Sarvar had been employed by the Canadian Corps of Commissionaires since 2019, though he had not been assigned to City Hall's security detail. Security footage from the day of the incident showed Sarvar in a Commissionaires security jacket. Additionally, a video Sarvar posted on social media the morning of the shooting, which has since been removed, depicted him discussing a mission and addressing various societal issues.
In the video titled “Rise up,” which has since been removed from YouTube, Sarvar touches on everything from weapons sales to eating healthy to Gaza to “wokeism.”
“Before I do my mission, I want you all to know that I am not a psychopath. I do not believe in bloodshed. I am not one of these monsters that hurt children, that hurt innocents,” Sarvar says.
“I’m just tired of seeing the tyranny and corruption taking over our society and our lives,” Sarvar says.
He says that “good, honest, God-fearing men and women” must become doctors, police, politicians and teachers, so that they can “rise up against this wokeism disease that is leading our generation into deception.”
“We need good men and women in all workforces to promote a pro-human life,” he says.
Sarvar also says people need to “rise up” against inflation and housing — both political crises in Canada that involve politicians at all levels of government.
The video also says people need to “rise up” to put a stop to “this genocide that’s going on in Gaza and throughout the world.
“Anybody that is destabilizing other countries, hurting their community, should feel ashamed of themselves, and inshallah we will rise against you guys and we’ll put you on trial,” Sarvar says.
He also says there’s an immigration crisis, “but instead of hate and anger in our hearts, we must spread love.”
“We must respect the Canadians laws and we must stand with the owners of this land and Canadians shoulder to shoulder to fight racism, to fight this inflation, to fight this rising of costs, to fight our tax money going into this genocide, that’s going into all this wars, to weapons that are destroying all these countries,” Sarvar says.
Sarvar says on video that he has a “beautiful wife” and “beautiful children.”
“But I cannot sit back and let this happen. I cannot watch our society crumble into darkness. We all need to rise up, we all need to stop being on our phones, we gotta promote healthy social lives where we all communicate with one another,” he says.
After saying bullying and hate must stop, he transitions to talking about taxation.
“We got to be in control of our tax, how it’s spent, and tax money has to be spent on us and it has to be spent on something that is pro-life, pro-human and somebody that is beneficial for us and our children.”
Finally, after a short monologue in a language other than English, Sarvar concludes: “We need to start filtering our water. We need to watch what we’re eating. We got to start eating healthy. Our officials need to start promoting healthy choices, healthy diet, exercises. They need to unite us all as one and we all got to start doing something positive for our society.”
“Inshallah,” — Arabic for “God willing” — “I will succeed with my mission. If I don’t succeed, I know somebody else will succeed for me.”
In light of the charges, federal Defence Minister Bill Blair commented on the gravity of the situation without delving into specifics, noting the high evidence threshold for such a charge. The event has led to Edmonton City Hall's temporary closure to the public, with city officials deliberating on implementing security enhancements to prevent future incidents. Mayor Amarjeet Sohi expressed gratitude towards the prompt response of security and emergency services on the day of the incident and highlighted ongoing efforts to bolster security measures while ensuring they remain minimally intrusive.
The addition of terrorism-related charges underscores the complex nature of Sarvar's motives and actions, particularly concerning his comments about seeking others to continue his work if he was not successful. This aspect highlights the critical importance of monitoring for copycat behaviour. Sarvar's explicit call for others to carry on his endeavours if he failed poses a significant risk of inspiring like-minded individuals. The potential for copycat actions necessitates vigilant monitoring and intervention strategies by law enforcement and intelligence agencies. Identifying and mitigating these risks are paramount to preventing further incidents and ensuring public safety. This situation serves as a stark reminder of the ongoing challenges in countering radicalization and the need for comprehensive approaches that include community engagement, mental health support, and the disruption of online platforms used to propagate extremist ideologies.
At BlueSky, we offer our clients unparalleled access to analyst-verified monitoring, actionable intelligence, and proactive insights into protests and potential disruptions in real-time. Our commitment is to deliver intelligence that is not only insightful but also deeply rooted in human expertise. We pride ourselves on delivering intelligence that is insightful and human-centric, because "Our best intelligence is not artificial."
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