Anti-vaccine protester harasses CP24 journalist

An anti-vaccine protester harassed CP24 journalist Cristina Tenaglia while she was filming a live report about the COVID-19 vaccination campaign. 

The protester, Jody Ledgerwood, filmed herself confronting the CP24 crew near City Hall in Toronto. In a video Ledgerwood posted on Instagram, she can be seen approaching Tenaglia and a CP24 camera operator from behind and standing next to them.

In a clip of the CP24 live broadcast, Ledgerwood can be seen filming a selfie as she stands next to Tenaglia, who appeared surprised when Ledgerwood suddenly moved so she was standing directly next to the journalist. 

“She already said ‘I’m just doing my job,’ and we know what happened at the Nuremberg trials to all of those officers who said ‘I’m just doing my job,’” Ledgerwood can be heard saying in the video.

Anti-vaccine protesters have often referenced the Holocaust and Nazi Germany, as well as the trials in Nuremberg after the Second World War. During the trials, a number of Nazi war criminals unsuccessfully argued that had only followed orders. Memes shared in online anti-vaccine groups, which often included a miscaptioned photo of people being hanged, incorrectly stated that journalists were tried and executed after the Nuremberg trials. 

“Children are dying … you need to start doing real journalism and real reporting,” Ledgerwood told Tenaglia, before continuing to yell about the safety of COVID-19 vaccines. After a few minutes, she was joined by a crowd of anti-vaccine protesters who verbally harassed the CP24 crew. 

Tenaglia tried to de-escalate the situation, and eventually filmed an interview with one of the protesters.