Toronto police arrest man for death threats against hospital protesters

Paul Scoffield, 49, was arrested on Friday and charged with uttering threats to cause death. He appeared before the court on the same day.

 Paramedics enter their ambulance parked at Mount Sinai Hospital as the city enters the first day of a renewed coronavirus disease (COVID-19) lockdown due to a spike in cases in Toronto, Ontario, Canada November 23, 2020. (photo credit: REUTERS/CARLOS OSORIO)
Paramedics enter their ambulance parked at Mount Sinai Hospital as the city enters the first day of a renewed coronavirus disease (COVID-19) lockdown due to a spike in cases in Toronto, Ontario, Canada November 23, 2020.
(photo credit: REUTERS/CARLOS OSORIO)

Canadian Police arrested a man after making threats against protesters at the Jewish-founded Mount Sinai Hospital during a call with law enforcement, the Toronto Police said in a statement on Saturday.

Paul Scoffield, 49, was arrested on Friday and charged with uttering threats to cause death. He appeared before the court on the same day.

Police say that Scoffield called them on Wednesday "to express frustration towards people demonstrating in front of a hospital" and then proceeded to threaten to "attend the hospital to harm the demonstrators."

Toronto police confirmed that the hospital in question was Mount Sinai.

Protesters' chant

During a Monday protest march from the Israeli consulate to the American consulate in Toronto, pro-Palestinian protesters climbed the portico and scaffolding of Mount Sinai and waved Palestinian flags. Marchers chanted, “Long live the Intifada.”

 People carry a Palestinian flag during a rally in front of City Hall in Toronto, Ontario, Canada October 9, 2023. (credit: REUTERS/Kyaw Soe Oo)
People carry a Palestinian flag during a rally in front of City Hall in Toronto, Ontario, Canada October 9, 2023. (credit: REUTERS/Kyaw Soe Oo)

The rally, which was a demonstration against IDF operations in Rafah, was widely panned by Canadian politicians for protesting on Hospital grounds.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow said that the protest at Mount Sinai was antisemitic.