Rebel News has filed a lawsuit against a Crown corporation after organizers were forced to pay nearly $50,000 in security fees for their Rumble Live event featuring Donald Trump Jr. and others in Downsview Park, Toronto.
The event, hosted by Rebel News and featured other high-profile speakers like journalist Glenn Greenwald, and Canadian lawyer David Freiheit (Viva Frei), was organized to protest Canada’s proposed anti-online hate legislation Bill C-63, also known as the Online News Act.
According to Rebel News founder Ezra Levant, the Canada Lands Company (CLC), which owns the venue, demanded the security fees as a condition for the event.
These fees covered police officers, private security, barriers, and portable toilets for expected protesters, though no protesters ultimately showed up.
Liberal Minister of Mental Health and Addictions Ya’ara Saks criticized the event before it began, labelling Rebel News as “hateful and extremist” and accusing the Jewish-owned outlet of spreading antisemitism and Islamophobia.
She also urged Toronto police to ensure security at the event.
Despite the last-minute costs, Rumble covered the security fees, allowing the event to proceed.
Levant has called the fee requirement “extortion,” arguing that it represents government overreach designed to suppress free speech.
“This was a government-owned agency demanding we pay for security for protesters that never existed,” Levant said. “Why do we have to pay for police? Since when do you have to pay for police?”
The lawsuit challenges the legality of the fees, arguing that the government unfairly targeted Rebel News due to its political stance. Rebel News claims the fees were politically motivated to discourage conservative events like theirs.