Charges laid in hate-motivated incident at Seton Library

The Calgary Police Service has laid charges following an incident that occurred on Saturday, Feb. 25, 2023, where protestors disrupted the Seton Library's Reading with Royalty event. At approximately, 11:15 a.m., while officers were attending the library to check on a planned demonstration, we were subsequently called to the location for reports that several individuals aggressively entered a library classroom, shouting homophobic and transphobic slurs at the children and parents in attendance, scaring the children while causing a disturbance and subsequently refusing to leave. Two people in attendance at the event assisted library staff in removing the disruptive individuals from the classroom while waiting for police to arrive. Upon arrival, officers removed protestors from the facility. Following the altercation, officers remained on scene to ensure public safety and gather additional evidence. 

As a result of this incident, we have charged one man with a hate-motivated crime. 

Derek Scott REIMER, 36, of Calgary, has been arrested and charged with one count of causing a disturbance and one count of mischief. He will appear in court later this morning. 

Hate-motivated crimes are recognizable crimes, like assault, theft, vandalism or any other crime, where the offender was motivated by bias, prejudice or hate that is based on the personal characteristics of the victim. 
A hate motivation does not result in any additional charges, but any evidence of it is considered by the courts after a person is found guilty of the connected crime. If the judge decides during sentencing that hate was a motivation for the offence, it is an aggravating factor that can add to the convicted person’s sentence. 

Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact the Calgary Police Service non-emergency number at 403-266-1234. Tips can also be submitted anonymously to Crime Stoppers through either of the following methods: 

TALK: 1-800-222-8477 

TYPE: www.calgarycrimestoppers.org 

TEXT: P3 App 

Case #23081130/ 4757