Rob Ford’s office issues statement after photo with neo-Nazi posted
Mayor Rob Ford was once again thrust into the spotlight after a photo of him grinning alongside a local neo-Nazi musician was made public on Thursday.
The photo taken at the 2012 New Year Levee shows a perspiring Rob Ford with his arm around Jon Latvis, who is allegedly a member of a band called RAHOWA (Racial Holy War).
The photo was uploaded by former Liberal strategist Warren Kinsella to his personal website in a post entitled “Toronto mayor’s far-right friend,” with the question “Why is Toronto’s mayor palsy with a former neo-Nazi icon?”
This prompted Rob Ford’s office to issue a statement saying the mayor was unaware of the man’s past comments and behaviour and the photo was one of several hundred he took that evening.
Statement from the Mayor’s Office:
An online blog today posted a picture of Mayor Rob Ford meeting a citizen during the 2012 New Year’s Levee at Toronto City Hall. The blog alleges the man posing with the Mayor is a member of a hate group and has a history of making racist, hateful and offensive comments.
The Mayor of Toronto meets, and poses for photos, with thousands of residents each year. Over the past two years, the Mayor has hosted two New Year’s Levees. These events welcomed over 800 visitors to City Hall, and 700 to 750 of them were personally greeted by the Mayor who posed with them for photographs.
While having his photo taken with the Mayor, the gentleman in the photo requested a meeting with the Mayor to discuss issues of concern to him as a constituent. The Mayor routinely receives these requests from members of the public and makes every effort to accommodate them whenever possible. In March 2012, the gentleman met briefly with the Mayor to discuss his concerns which primarily focused on transit issues.
During both the Levee and the March meeting, the gentleman identified himself using a name different from the one attributed to him in the recent blog article. Once the photograph was posted online today, Mayor’s Office staff recognized the individual as someone who had met with the Mayor at the Levee and again in March.
At no time was the Mayor aware of allegations that this individual had made racist, hateful or otherwise offensive comments, nor were any such comments made during his meeting with the Mayor. Mayor Ford is a strong supporter of Toronto’s Jewish community and strongly deplores anti-Semitism in any form.
George Christopoulos
Press Secretary, Office of the Mayor, City of Toronto
Metro News