HALIFAX — The RCMP made a quick arrest and charged two men with public incitement of hatred, mischief and uttering threats in connection with a cross- burning incident in Nova Scotia on Feb. 21.
Shayne Howe and Michelle Lyon, a married interracial couple, were the victims of the heinous crime, which horrified people across Canada and evoked condemnation from Jewish groups as well.
The two men, ages 20 and 19, both from Avondale, in Hants County, are alleged to have placed a large wooden cross on the front lawn of the couple’s home in Poplar Grove, near Avondale, and lit it on fire, reminiscent of Ku Klux Klan racial hatred in the southern United States.
Before leaving, while the cross burned, one man yelled, “Die nigger die.”
RCMP spokesperson Sgt. Bridgit Leger said the two accused and the victims are known to each other, and the incident was not a random act of violence.
Jon Goldberg, executive director of the Atlantic Jewish Council (AJC), decried the incident. “I hope this is just two people being jerks and doing something on their own, and not a resuscitation of events that happened 20 years ago” when, prior to the advent of the Internet and e-mail, hate messages were sent to the AJC and others via fax.
In a statement issued by Canadian Jewish Congress and the AJC a day before the arrests were made, Goldberg said, “We urge the RCMP to investigate this intolerable incident with a view to pursuing the potential hate crime dimension of any criminal charges that may be laid.”
Howe, concerned for the safety of his wife and five children, aged two to 17, was thinking of moving if the perpetrators were not caught. He expressed gratitude for the overwhelming support he received from friends, neighbours and others. A Facebook site generated almost 1,700 members expressing their outrage over the incident.
“People I don’t know are offering their support,” Howe, who is black, said before the arrests. “They have pulled together to make us feel so welcome. Staying or leaving is completely dependent on the capture of the individuals.
“If those who did this remain at large, we’d leave. If they’re caught, I’d stay. And everyone is telling us not to leave.”