An election lawn sign depicting a target on Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau’s head is being looked at by an Edmonton police hate crime unit.
A picture of the sign, found on a Mill Woods neighbourhood lawn, was posted to social media Wednesday by a woman who spoke out against it.
It also shows a crosshair target on the forehead of Edmonton Mill Woods Liberal Candidate Amarjeet Sohi.
Police issued a statement Thursday saying they had not received a formal complaint about the sign.
“However, the EPS Hate Crime and Violent Extremism Unit and INSET have been informed and are looking into it,” said spokesman Scott Pattison.
Tim Uppal, the Conservative candidate for the riding, was tagged in the tweet and asked to weigh in.
At around 11:15 a.m., he tweeted “Threats of political violence have no place in our democracy. I’ve instructed my campaign to remove our sign from this property.”
The man whose property the sign was located on wouldn’t speak with CTV News Edmonton on camera, but maintained that the sign wasn’t intended to incite violence.
"It’s a target sign. It’s not a rifle. It’s a target. So target your vote. Vote them out. That’s what it means. Target your vote, vote them out, get a responsible government,” said Les Deavu, who removed the Uppal sign from his property. The anti-Trudeau sign remained on his lawn.
Asked about the attention his sign has generated, Deavu said he was glad people were looking at it.
"There’s nothing hatred about this, outside of I hate my tax dollars being wasted, and they’re very good at doing it," he said.
Sohi also reacted to the sign on Twitter Wednesday night, saying while it was disturbing, it was not reflective of his riding.
"Rest assured, this won't stop me from talking to my neighbours on their doorsteps," he tweeted.
As of Thursday afternoon, Deavu had amended the sign to include the words "Target your vote."
Crosshair targets, or reticles, are used as telescopic sights for firearms.
With files from CTV News Edmonton's Brandon Lynch. More details to come…
