Two women charged for uttering threats about "shoot an Indian" messages

Two women were arrested and charged with uttering threats after an avalanche of vandalism in northern Manitoba led to "hateful and threatening speech" online, according to the RCMP.

Investigators say that a 32-year-old man from Flin Flon, Man., And a 25-year-old man from the neighboring village of Denare Beach, Saskatchewan, are accused of uttering threats and inciting publicly to hatred.

"People must be held accountable and they must be responsible for the online content they publish," said Sgt's spokesman. Paul Manaigre

He said that the investigation is still active and that charges are being filed against a third person.

The arrests are the result of multiple acts of vandalism against vehicles and property in Flin Flon, a town 630 kilometers northwest of Winnipeg on Sunday.

Manaigre said that what had started as a vandalism dump on a local Facebook page has intensified rapidly.

"The message then went from frustration to the very hateful language that the public had access to". "Everyone started seeing these complaints and comments and started making appeals to the RCMP."

He said that the investigation immediately began and led to the charges.

The Public Hate Incitement Charge

"It's applicable in this situation and we found it necessary," Manaigre said. "We need to send a strong message that this behavior on social media can not be tolerated."

The police do not publish the names of women until the charges are formally brought before the courts.

However, the circumstances seem to correspond to remarks made by local women Destine Spiller and Raycine Chaisson.

Posted on Facebook, she "would kill Indians when I go home." She also proposed a "shoot an Indian day".

Chaisson responded, suggesting a "24-hour purge."

Screenshots of messages – and answers – have been shared hundreds of times on Facebook, with much opposition to comments

Spiller, who has apologized, has lost his job because of the remarks.

The Urban Trendz Hair Studio at Flin Flon – Referring to both its "zero tolerance" for racism and the effect of unspecified "statements" on the community – said on Facebook that it sent back the person responsible. Sources told CBC News that this person was Spiller.

Spiller apologized for acting angrily on Sunday.

"I did not think when I said it," she wrote on Facebook. "I was crazy to see my new car being dumped for no reason."

Manitoba Grand Chief Arlen Dumas applauded the arrests.

"I'm really happy," he said. "I think people need to be aware of the seriousness of the issues and that people should be held accountable for the statements they make."

He said that the severity of the comments justified immediate action because the violence was advocated. Dumas said the threats of violence and real violence are too real for Aboriginal people.

Threatening Messages and Photos

Aboriginal leaders have asked the Saskatchewan RCMP to do the same.

"That's what we expect from the RCMP to do more," said Bobby Cameron, Chief of the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations (FSIN),

"This threatening attitude to life must be arrested and guilty He must be charged with a hate crime and must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law We will no longer tolerate these blatant acts and racist statements in Canada.

The group applied to the Saskatchewan RCMP In 1965, a Saskatchewan jury convicted Stanley of the shooting death of Colten Boushie, a First Nations man, in 2016.

verdict sparked rallies and shouting.

The FSIN stated that anxious people had sent a number of racist and threatening messages and photos, which it forwarded to the RCMP.

The group says that no charges have been laid.

CBC News sought the advice of the Saskatchewan RCMP.