Toronto, Canada, Oct 8, 2018 / 14:01 pm
A Toronto man has been arrested for reportedly roundhouse-kicking a female pro-life demonstrator and harassing several others at a pro-life rally in late September.
Jordan Hunt, 26, turned himself into police Oct. 6 and has been charged with multiple counts of assault and mischief related to the event.
Pro-life demonstrator Marie-Claire Bissonnette told Canada news source Global News that she and 76 other pro-life demonstrators were participating peacefully in the annual 'Life Chain' event in Toronto when she was approached by Hunt.
"This guy comes up and I guess he sees what's going on, and so he took out three markers and he drew on two of our signs, and so I shouted, 'Protect your signs,'" Bissonnette told Global News. "I guess that gave him the idea to start scribbling on people's backs, so he scribbled on five people's backs."
At that point, Bissonnette took out her phone and began video recording Hunt. In the video, published on Global News, Hunt asks Bissonnette whether a hypothetical young girl who has been raped and becomes pregnant should keep her baby.
Bissonnette, behind the camera, begins responding to Hunt by saying "it's a baby." As she continues her response, Hunt can be seen winding up and kicking Bissonnette in the shoulder, sending her phone flying to the ground.
Bissonnette told Global that she called police to the scene, but Hunt fled before they arrived.
Hunt was identified in an Instagram post by Noble Studio 101, a local hair salon where Hunt, a freelance hair stylist, had been contracting work for a couple of months. The studio had been made aware of the video of the incident by Hunt himself.
"It has been brought to our attention that Jordan Hunt has been caught on camera assaulting an innocent bystander at a pro-life rally," the statement said.
"We don't condone his actions and he has been let go. We believe that everyone has a right to an opinion and the right to voice their opinion without fear of physical violence."
Besides the reported kick, Hunt also allegedly scribbled on pro-life demonstrators posters and clothing and pulled a ribbon off of Bissonette that she had been wearing.
Hunt was charged with eight counts of assault and seven counts of mischief related to the Life Chain incident. Global News reported that Hunt was also charged with one count of assault for another incident at a pro-life demonstration Aug. 2.
