Terry Newman: Accused in Israeli flag burning wears Hamas shirt to court in Montreal

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Imagine being accused of burning the flag of Israel outside the town hall of a suburb with a large Jewish population and then waltzing into court wearing a shirt with the likeness of a deceased Hamas military spokesperson while you defend your actions.

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That’s what happened in a Montreal courtroom on Wednesday.

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Frédéric Biron Carmel, 40, a resident of Villeray-St-Michel-Parc-Extension in Montreal, faced four charges, including mischief motivated by hate or prejudice, inciting hatred toward an identifiable group, setting fire to flags on municipal property and possession of incendiary materials.

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Biron Carmel allegedly travelled on bike to the community of Hampstead not once, but on two occasions to torch the Israeli flag outside its town hall on Aug. 22 and Aug. 25, 2025.

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And he appeared to be proud of those allegations. So much so that he attended court wearing a shirt with the likeness of deceased Hamas military spokesperson Abu Obeida. (Hamas is a listed terrorist organization in Canada and is responsible for carrying out the attacks on October 7.)

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On Wednesday, when Judge Silvie Kovacevich told him that it was within his rights to have a publication ban placed on the evidence, Biron Carmel declined and told her, “It’s in the public interest.”

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Among that evidence is video surveillance footage showing an individual in dark clothing spraying a substance up the flagpole outside Hampstead’s city hall at 1:47 a.m. on Aug. 25. The attempt failed. The individual returned at 3:06 a.m. and succeeded.

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Jean-François Cyr, the police officer who arrested Biron Carmel explained to the court how the investigation led police to Biron Carmel’s residence.

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Cyr told the court that part of the investigation included a video titled “Manifesto of the flag burner,” which had been posted to social media. Biron Camel had posted it to his public Facebook account.

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In the roughly three and a half minute video an individual can be seen riding an electronic bike wearing a helmet.

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In the background of the video, a drum pounds. A voiceover declares that the video is the “manifesto of the flag burner” and follows with an admission: “I burned the Israeli flag at Hampstead town hall because flying it is both immoral and illegal.”

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It then accuses Israel of being an “apartheid state” and carrying out a “Holocaust of Palestinians.”

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It also suggests that Hampstead Mayor Jeremy Levi is guilty of the “active advocacy and promotion of genocide” and should be imprisoned.

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The voiceover explains what Biron Carmel allegedly did next:

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“To burn the Israeli flag, I first set fire to the Hamstead flag because Mayor Levi had chained it to the banner of genocide and ethnic cleansing on the same pole. That choice was his, not mine. By tying Hampstead’s identity to Israel’s crimes, he ensured both would fall together into the flames. … Wherever it is raised, it deserves to be reduced to ash.”

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Near the end of the video, the drums abate, replaced with the sound of chirping birds.