Caryma Sa'd fights back in civil court over protest assaults and online smears
'We're going to see consequences and hopefully set some precedent,' Caryma said on Friday's episode of The Ezra Levant Show. 'That may help others down the line.'
On Wednesday's episode of The Ezra Levant Show, Ezra sat down with independent journalist Caryma Sa'd to discuss a years-long pattern of physical harassment on the streets of Toronto and Ottawa, a justice system that has repeatedly declined to hold her attackers to account, and what she has decided to do about it.
Ezra opened the conversation by contrasting the manufactured victimhood of regime media journalists, who merely get called out on social media, and the genuine physical danger faced by independent reporters who show up to cover protests with a camera.
He pointed to Rebel News's own Alexandra Lavoie, who has been targeted by a Montreal Antifa member later identified as working at a Department of National Defence military base, and to Caryma herself, who often runs into trouble during her "wildlife reporting" approach of simply pointing a camera and letting events speak for themselves.
Caryma, who has documented protests and political events for five years, explained the philosophy behind her work.
"The MO throughout this has been to provide a window, at times a mirror, into what's happening on the streets," she told Ezra. "Most people can't make it out there; reasonably, they may not want to make it out there. And so I provide that window."
That window, she said, has come at a physical cost.
"I've been spat at, hit, shoved to the ground," Caryma said. "Someone tried to rob my cell phone at one point, blasted with megaphones, blasted with electronic whistles, a ton of hurtful words and verbal abuse as well."
She recounted one of her first encounters with an electronic whistle device — capable of reaching 120 decibels — during a protest in Ottawa over gender ideology.
"The individual who assaulted me with it was fully masked, dressed in black bloc, and was accompanied by a sitting MPP, at the time, who witnessed the entire encounter and turned his face when he realized the camera was zooming in on him," she said.
Caryma identified the NDP MPP as Ottawa Centre's Joel Harden, who she said never condemned the use of the device and instead used his authority as a member of now-NDP Leader Avi Lewis' campaign team to bar her from campaign events.
She also noted that a conviction for assault with a weapon has since been secured against another protester who used the same device on a sitting MP.
"That's the only time I've seen a consequence befall someone — when they've attacked a politician," Caryma said. "There doesn't seem to have been much concern by police when the device is used on regular citizens."
Caryma went on to describe repeated failures by Crown prosecutors to pursue charges even when physical assaults were reported.
#UPDATE
— Caryma Sa'd - Lawyer + Political Satirist (@CarymaRules) August 15, 2026
A civil lawsuit has been filed and served on CUPE Ontario and its former president Fred Hahn alleging assault, battery, and negligence.
The incident captured in this video forms the basis for the claim.
Your support helps us seek legal recourse against those who… https://t.co/KFNOD3VD9M pic.twitter.com/JZj2IiuurP
"My videographer has been spat on and called a slur," she said. "He's had his pants pulled down and his genitals exposed to a hostile crowd. And in none of those cases did the Crown even bother pursuing the matter to trial, nor did they seek victim input."
She said three separate Crown prosecutors at Toronto's 10 Armoury courthouse have handled her cases, adding, "One Crown, I believe, was president of some Crown association. So it's right up to the top."
Turning to why she thought prosecutors kept declining to act, Caryma was careful not to overstate her case.
"I'm loath to bring any degree of disrepute onto the justice system," she said, before laying out the possibilities: sympathy among prosecutors for the protesters' causes, general disregard for independent journalists, or something more personal.
Further to this last point, Ezra recalled how Ontario's government sent three prosecutors to observe the day he testified in Ottawa on behalf of Tamara Lich, saying, "I think that there's certain political causes that it's downright a vendetta."
#UPDATE
— Caryma Sa'd - Lawyer + Political Satirist (@CarymaRules) August 13, 2026
Deana Sherif is hard to miss at protests, and hard to find when it comes to serving lawsuits.
She has not yet acknowledged receiving a defamation claim against her, despite a copy being sent by mail and a process server making three separate visits, leaving behind… https://t.co/pAnOVR53rz pic.twitter.com/GuYNKDmnn2
With criminal recourse largely exhausted, Caryma said she is increasingly turning to civil court, filing defamation claims against those she says have falsely branded her a "pedophile" or "sex trafficker" online. She called the claims "patently absurd" but dangerous, since some people "believe that they are somehow morally just or righteous in enacting violence" against her as a result. She is also pursuing civil claims for assault and battery.
"We're going to see consequences and hopefully set some precedent," Caryma said. "I'm not special or unique in the sense that these tactics are used on others. And so if I have an opportunity to highlight, showcase, and seek accountability, that may help others down the line."
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