Four men have been arrested after they allegedly posted recordings of Ontario court proceedings to high-profile Instagram accounts.
Toronto police allege that on Feb. 23, the Instagram accounts "thehood6ix" and "thewarinda6ix" posted images of a witness who had been testifying during a preliminary court hearing being held by remote video conference.
The next day, police said the Instagram accounts "straighouttathe6ixtv," "thewarinda6ix," "thehood6ix," and "keep6ixsolid" posted an audio recording of this same witness from the same remote video hearing.
According to police, there was a publication ban in place on the evidence given during that hearing.
Authorities said posting the images and audio obstructed the course of justice and intimidated a justice system participant.
Brampton man Kyle Stephens, 20, has been charged with three counts of intimidation of a justice system participant, three counts of obstructing justice and three counts of failing to comply with Section 539(1) order.
Mohammed Abdalla, of Toronto, was charged with two counts of intimidation of a justice system participant, two counts of obstructing justice and two counts of failing to comply with a Section 539(1) order.
Ryan Taylor, of Brampton, and Afrah Mohamed, 30, is facing one count of intimidation of a justice system participant, one count of obstructing justice and one count of failing to comply with a Section 539(1) order.
During the execution of one of the search warrants, police said a firearm with a high-capacity magazine and ammunition was located.
As a result, Mohamed has also been charged with unauthorized possession of a firearm, unauthorized possession of a prohibited device, possession of a firearm knowing its possession is unauthorized, and possession of an unloaded firearm with ammunition readily available.
