Scotiabank sit-in case ends: 21 fined, 22 diverted

Updated Oct. 26, 2026: This story has been updated with figures from Quebec’s prosecution service, provided through the City of Montreal, covering all 44 defendants, and with the city’s response. An earlier version said the Crown had dropped the charges; 21 people were in fact fined under a city bylaw. The headline has been changed.

The criminal case against 44 pro-Palestinian protesters arrested at a 2024 sit-in at a downtown Montreal Scotiabank branch is over. Twenty-one of them pleaded guilty to a lesser municipal offence and were fined $300 each, 22 had their charges dismissed after completing an alternative measures program, and the charge against one person was withdrawn.

The figures come from Quebec’s Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions, provided in a statement through the City of Montreal. All 44 had been charged with mischief under the Criminal Code after the April 15, 2024 sit-in at the branch at 1002 Sherbrooke St. W., where they demanded the bank divest from Israeli weapons maker Elbit Systems during the war in Gaza. The 21 who were fined pleaded guilty to violating a city noise bylaw (section 9 of By-law B-3).

The last 14 defendants resolved their cases Monday, when the mischief charges against them were withdrawn after they agreed to plead guilty to the bylaw offence, The Canadian Press reported. Defence lawyer Barbara Bedont said the remaining defendants had a strong constitutional case, and that criminalizing peaceful sit-ins threatens freedom of expression and the right to protest.

In a news release, the co-defendants said the Crown offered the noise ticket after they filed a Charter challenge. They said the court showed bias, and that they filed a complaint Monday against the judge who presided over the case. Mara Farrokh, one of the defendants, told reporters they accepted the fines to end the proceedings and that the judge treated them unfairly. The protesters have asked Quebec’s judicial council to review the judge’s conduct. The complaint’s claims have not been tested.

Farrokh also said security footage shown at hearings in April showed officers in riot gear stepping on a protester, and that the judge did not treat it as evidence of excessive force. The Canadian Press said those allegations have not been independently verified and that it has not viewed the footage.

The City of Montreal said that neither it nor the prosecution would comment on the allegations of abuse of power, discrimination or judicial bias. “These allegations have not been the subject of any judicial determination,” the city said in a statement, adding that further comment would therefore be inappropriate. Montreal police said they acknowledged the court’s decision and noted that anyone who believes they were mistreated can file a complaint with the force or an independent body. Scotiabank did not respond to our request for comment by deadline.

At the April hearings, a Scotiabank branch manager testified that the protesters had not threatened anyone or damaged property, and that he locked the doors and called police without first asking them to leave. Scotiabank’s investment management subsidiary has since disclosed that it sold its remaining Elbit shares, which the protesters called a victory.

Canada News Media has followed the case since the Charter hearings began. See our earlier reports on the court appearance after the arrests and on the start of the hearings.

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Sources: Quebec’s Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions, via a City of Montreal statement; The Canadian Press via CTV News; a news release from the co-defendants.