Man charged after allegedly putting white supremacist stickers in locker room of Calgary rec centre: police
Posted Mar 20, 2024 2:37 pm.
Last Updated Mar 20, 2024 2:50 pm.
A man is facing charges after allegedly putting white supremacist stickers in a locker room of a Calgary recreation centre, police say.
On Friday, Jan. 5, investigators say a man used the public facilities at the MNP Community and Sport Centre on Macleod Trail SE and attached stickers promoting white supremacy to lockers in a public locker room.
Police say the staff at the recreation centre immediately removed the stickers and reported the incident to police.
A man was identified and charged on Monday, March 18 after police looked at CCTV footage and spoke with staff at the centre,
Fifty-year-old Mark Lloyd Pearson has been charged with one count of hate-motivated mischief.
“We have seen similar stickers promoting white supremacy attached to objects in public locations across Calgary,” acting Sgt. Matt Messenger of the Calgary Police Service Hate Crime Prevention Team said in a statement. “Calgary is the third most diverse city in Canada, and these stickers are purposefully placed in locations where the public can easily see them in order to leave people feeling unwelcome and like they don’t belong. This is unacceptable and we will continue to hold those responsible accountable.”
Calgary police say hate-motivated crimes are recognizable crimes, like assault, theft, vandalism or any other crime, where the offender was motivated by bias, prejudice or hate that is based on one of nine personal characteristics of the victim.
