Woman who stood on Tomb of the Unknown Soldier won't be charged: police

A woman who stood and shouted on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier during the ‘Freedom Convoy’ protest has expressed remorse and will not be charged, Ottawa police say.

A video showed the woman standing on the tomb at the National War Memorial yelling ‘freedom’ on Jan. 29. Police released photos and video of the suspect in an effort to identify her.

Police said Thursday the woman has been identified, but will not be charged.

“She was spoken to, showed remorse for her actions and police are confident she will not re-offend,” police said in a statement to CTV News. “She was processed by other means, which is a police practice.”

Police say they are not releasing the woman’s name because she hasn’t been charged. They said she lives out of province.

“Suffice to say, the investigation into the female videotaped standing and yelling on the Tomb Of The Unknown Soldier impacted people across the country,” the statement said.

“Inspector Jim Elves, who oversees our criminal investigators, is a veteran himself and understands the importance of this sacred monument. All that to say, after a thorough investigation was conducted and several parties were spoken to, the OPS are satisfied this was an isolated incident that won’t happen again from this person."

The video from the first weekend of what turned out to be a three-week occupation sparked outrage. Canada’s chief of the defence staff said he was “sickened” and Defence Minister Anita Anand called the behaviour “beyond reprehensible.”

Police later placed fencing around the memorial to keep the protesters out for the rest of the demonstration.

Police are preparing for another downtown protest this weekend, with the ‘Rolling Thunder’ demonstration expected to bring at least 500 motorcycles to the city.

Police have set up an exclusion zone that prohibits protest vehicles from entering, which includes the National War Memorial. However, people will be allowed to walk there. Ottawa's interim police chief said there are no plans to erect fencing around the memorial, but officers will be nearby.