Police say no charges stemming from racist video allegedly created by Montreal teens

Montreal police say two teens allegedly behind a racist video that has circulated widely online this week won’t face criminal charges.

Const. Raphael Bergeron says investigators who probe hate crimes studied the video and determined that while the content was racist, it did not incite hatred, which would be key to laying charges.

Bergeron says police consider the matter closed.

On Tuesday, police said they would investigate the video that shows two girls wearing blackface and singing and dancing as they direct a stream of slurs and insults towards Black people.

John Rennie High School in Pointe Claire, a suburb west of Montreal, posted on Facebook on Monday that it was co-operating with investigators regarding a video created by two students.

The Lester B. Pearson School Board wrote it was “horrified” by the video’s “disturbing and patently racist” content and devastated to learn it was posted by students at one of its schools.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 17, 2020.