Former city lawyer who vandalized National Holocaust Monument pleads guilty

OTTAWA – A former City of Ottawa lawyer has pleaded guilty after defacing Canada’s National Holocaust Monument.

Iain Aspenlieder, 46, was charged last month with mischief to a war memorial, mischief exceeding $5,000 and harassment by threatening conduct.

He appeared in court Friday.

Aspenlieder’s lawyer Michael Spratt said his client pleaded guilty to one count of mischief for defacing the Holocaust memorial and that the Crown has consented to his release on bail.

Spratt said a sentencing hearing is expected sometime in the fall, with the date still to be determined.

The lawyer said it’s expected that the other charges will be withdrawn at the request of the Crown at the conclusion of the sentencing process.

On June 9, the words “FEED ME” were found scrawled in red paint across the face of the monument in downtown Ottawa. Red paint was also found splashed on other portions of the structure.

According to the agreed statement of facts, Aspenlieder was seen on surveillance recordings arriving at the monument just before 3 a.m. on a bicycle. He was carrying red bags and throwing paint on the monument. He left paint cans at the monument, which were collected as evidence.

The statement says that when Aspenlieder was arrested at his home on June 27, he was wearing a shirt that had red paint on it and told police: “I am wearing incriminating evidence.” The next day, Aspenlieder attended a bail hearing while participating in a hunger strike.

Prime Minister Mark Carney said in June that he was “appalled” by the vandalism and that the monument is a space for mourning and remembrance.

Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe said on social media last month that the person charged was a city employee on leave and he asked city officials to take “all appropriate action.” 

Interim city solicitor Stuart Huxley said in an email that the individual is no longer employed by the city.

The Ontario Sunshine List says Aspenlieder was a legal counsel for the City of Ottawa making over $148,000 a year.

The Law Society of Ontario website says Aspenlieder is “suspended administratively.”

Spratt said in an email that Aspenlieder has “accepted responsibility for his actions.”

“When he is sentenced later this year, the court will hear that his conduct, while unlawful, was driven by a profound sense of compassion and moral urgency — not by hatred or prejudice,” Spratt said.

“He looks forward to demonstrating that his motivation was rooted in a desire to call attention to human suffering, not to cause harm or spread intolerance.”

Spratt said the Crown likely will seek a penitentiary sentence. He said the defence likely will suggest that the time Aspenlieder spent in custody is “punishment enough for his actions.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 25, 2025.