Charges Dropped for Regent Park Resident Involved In Toppling Sir John A. Macdonald Statue

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Regent Park resident, Miguel Avila-Velarde, who was arrested following his participation in the removal and destruction of the Sir John A. Macdonald statue from Gore Park in Hamilton, has had his charges dropped.

In August of 2021, Miguel Avila-Velarde was one of approximately 200 demonstrators who had gathered in Hamilton’s Gore Park to protest the Hamilton City council’s decision not to remove the statue of Sir  John A. Macdonald. Protestors pulled the statue down using ropes tied to the statues neck. The statue was further vandalized by a grinder, hammer, red paint and finally was beheaded.
 
John A. Macdonald, was Canada’s inaugural Prime Minister, and considered by many to be a key architect in the creation of the residential school system. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (2007), has since declared that residential schools were a form of “cultural genocide” against First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples.

Following the release of his photo and a warrant for his arrest, Miguel Avila-Velarde surrendered to Toronto police, and was charged with mischief exceeding $5,000.
 
Although Avila-Velarde was one of four people suspected in the incident, which the Hamilton Police were investigating originally as criminal mischief, he was the only one charged.

In the final episode of the case against Miguel Avila-Velarde, Charles Spettigue a Hamilton defense lawyer (who represented Miguel), confirmed that the Crown has determined that “it wasn’t in the public interest to proceed” with the case against his client.

By Dimitrije Martinovic


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