Green Party calls candidate's praise of Israeli Embassy murders 'appalling'
Jayden Baldonado shuttered his social media accounts as his comments garnered intense backlash
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OTTAWA — Canada’s federal Green Party is distancing itself from comments an Alberta party executive made praising Wednesday’s murder of two Israeli Embassy workers in Washington, D.C.
On Thursday morning, failed Calgary Centre federal election candidate Jayden Baldonado wrote on various social media accounts that the murders of Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim were “100% justified,” and compared accused killer Elias Rodriguez with Luigi Mangione and Rodney Hinton.
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“Peaceful protest has failed, and the people need to start fighting back, against those in positions of power,” Baldonado wrote from his now-deleted X account.
Mangione is accused in the December 2024 murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, while Hinton was charged with fatally running down a retired Ohio Sheriff’s Deputy in retaliation for the death of his son — an armed car theft suspect shot to death while fleeing police in Cincinnati.
Rodriguez was seen on video chanting “Free, Free Palestine” while being taken into custody, and court records reveal he allegedly told police he’d committed the murders to further the cause of Palestinian independence.
An FBI affidavit said Rodriguez flew from Chicago to D.C. on Tuesday with the murder weapon in his checked baggage, and described the murders as “deliberate” and “calculated.”
Baldonado shuttered his social media accounts as his comments garnered intense backlash.
A LinkedIn account associated with Baldonado was likewise closed.
Baldonado’s official Green Party biography lists Swedish environmentalist and noted anti-Israel activist Greta Thunberg as an inspiration for his own activism, prompting him to get involved in politics at an early age.
An environmental science student at Calgary’s Mount Royal University, Baldonado is also listed as Member-At-Large of the party’s Alberta’s Executive Council.
Emailed invitations for comment to Baldonado by the Sun went unacknowledged.
In a statement, the Green Party of Canada denounced Baldonado’s comments.
“The Green Party of Canada unequivocally denounces all forms of violence, including the appalling remarks made by Jayden Baldonado regarding the tragic events in Washington last night,” the statement read, adding that an investigation is underway.
“Party efforts to reach Mr. Baldonado have been unsuccessful.”
— With files from the Associated Press
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