Montreal man threatens to kill Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau

Police in Canada have charged a Montreal man for threatening to kill Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in social media posts on X, formerly Twitter, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said on Wednesday.

The man, 30, faces a criminal charge of uttering threats and will appear at the Montreal courthouse on Wednesday, the RCMP said in a statement. The charge carries a maximum sentence of two years in jail.

The RCMP said the charge was laid on Jan. 31 after a short investigation into the man’s “threatening comments,” without providing more details.

Trudeau’s office said it does not comment on the prime minister’s security.

A spokesperson for the RCMP’s Quebec division said police had conducted similar investigations into online threats to Trudeau in the recent past, and some resulted in criminal charges.

“We have seen more of those incidents since the COVID pandemic, and have consequently adapted our resources to effectively monitor the Web. We’re therefore in a better situation to prevent real threats,” the spokesperson said.