A Kitchener, Ont., man has pleaded guilty to threatening Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during a campaign stop in nearby Cambridge last summer.

An assistant crown attorney from the Waterloo Region Crown Attorney’s Office has confirmed that Thomas Dyer has been charged with uttering death threats and uttering threats to cause bodily harm.

Last week, Dyer pleaded guilty to the death threat charge, court documents confirm.

On August 29, 2021, Trudeau visited a business in Cambridge to deliver a speech. Police at the time said he was forced to delay his appearance due to a protest, which involved up to 200 people.

During the protest, people shouted obscenities and made death threats against Trudeau. They also hurled racist and misogynistic slurs at people of color and the women of the Liberal leader’s protective team.

On September 10, 2021, Waterloo Regional Police said a 32-year-old Kitchener man was arrested and charged with two counts of threatening.

Court documents show a similar rally once took place in Barrie, where Dyer is believed to have attended.

Inquiry Details

After the August incident, local police initially said no one had been arrested or charged. However, an investigation was launched soon after based on information from the RCMP, witnesses and a video posted on social media.

Court documents show Dyer was identified in the media and a video posted online during the August 29 campaign shutdown. A Liberal Party staffer also captured video. Footage shows Dyer holding a poster of an executioner leading the prime minister into a noose.

During the video, Dyer “expresses violent and anti-government thoughts,” according to court documents.

Court documents indicate that after his arrest in September, Dyer admitted to attending the rally and reiterated his political positions.

Dyer was released on his own accord and is expected to be sentenced on October 20, 2022.

The assistant crown attorney confirmed that his second charge would be withdrawn after sentencing.

Dyer’s legal representative did not respond to a request for comment at the time of publication.