Montreal police beat credentialed journalists covering anti-AI protest
Award-winning photographer William Wilson and reporter Isaac Peltz hospitalized after riot officers attacked them while they documented a demonstration against an AI summit.
What to know
- Montreal police assaulted two accredited journalists—William Wilson and Isaac Peltz—during an anti-AI protest on September 18, 2026, despite both wearing visible press credentials.
- Wilson suffered a concussion and extensive bruising from pepper spray and repeated strikes from about a dozen riot officers; Peltz was tear-gassed and punched.
- The incident is part of a documented pattern: Montreal police tracked a La Presse journalist's phone in 2016, arrested a CUTV journalist in 2024, and the CAJ called for investigation into assaults on these same two journalists in 2025.
- Even police department supporters described the response as disproportionate, triggered by a barricade removal rather than serious threat.
William Wilson Award-winning photographer, credentialed journalistIsaac Peltz Reporter, CAJ and AJIQ memberMontreal Police Department (SPVM) Law enforcementThe Rover PublicationCanadian Association of Journalists (CAJ) Press advocacy organization
How it unfolded 1 development · click the chart to see its coverage posts
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The Rover publishes open letter calling for investigation into police assault
An open letter from The Rover publication documents the assault on Wilson and Peltz with witness testimony, photographs, and medical evidence. The piece contextualizes the incident within a pattern of Montreal police targeting journalists, citing the 2016 tracking of La Presse journalist Patrick Lagacé, the 2024 arrest of CUTV journalist Savanna Craig, and a previous 2025 CAJ call for investigation into SPVM assaults on the same two journalists.
“The reaction was overkill, they badly outnumbered the protesters and appear to have been triggered by someone removing a barricade.”
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Folks, haven't been posting on fedi because I have not been doing super well. I was a recipient of some really frightening police brutality at an anti-AI protest last week. My photography and part of my witness statement is in The Rover today. https:// therover.ca/open-letter-invest…
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Open Letter: Investigate the Montreal Police who Beat and Hospitalized our Colleague Reporter William Wilson suffered a concussion after police assaulted him during a protest last week. This despite being a credentialed journalist doing his job.
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“I felt at least 10 to 15 kicks when I was on the ground,” Wilson said, immediately after the beating. “I said, ‘Je suis blessé, I am injured’ a couple times. I was screaming and then I looked up and a police officer hit me in the face with his baton.” # Montreal https:// therover.ca/open-letter-invest…
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background
Wilson hospitalized with concussion and extensive injuries — Wilson spent the night in the emergency room and was diagnosed with a concussion. Medical reports documented bruising on his torso, spine, neck, hip, pelvis and arms. Witness accounts describe officers laughing as they struck unarmed civilians.
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Montreal police beat two credentialed journalists at AI summit protest — During a protest against an AI summit, riot police in tactical gear pepper-sprayed and assaulted photographer William Wilson and reporter Isaac Peltz, both wearing press credentials. Wilson was surrounded by about a dozen officers who struck him repeatedly while he lay on the ground; Peltz was tear-gassed and punched in the stomach while attempting to show his press identification.