Owners of thehood6ix, thewarinda6ix, directly from the6ixtv and keep6ixsolid broadcast footage, witness audio during hearing streamed live
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Four people are facing charges following a Toronto Police investigation into allegations of witness tampering carried out by high-profile social media accounts.
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The investigation, titled “Project VWAP,” began after two Instagram accounts, thehood6ix and thewarinda6ix, posted images of a witness testifying during a preliminary hearing on February 23.
The next day, the same two accounts, joined by straightouttathe6ixtv and keep6ixsolid, posted an audio recording of the same witness.
Both images and audio were taken from court proceedings streamed live via Zoom, which during the COVID-19 pandemic became the means of communication for conducting court proceedings in Ontario.
“These actions served to obstruct the course of justice and intimidate a participant in the judicial system,” a Toronto Police press release reads.
The publication of images and videos of the proceedings, already against the law, also violated a publication prohibition imposed at the hearing by Judge David Porter, according to Sec. 539 (1) of the Canadian Penal Code.
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Earlier this month, police executed a series of search warrants in Toronto and Brampton.
Kyle Stephens, 20, and Ryan Taylor, 32, both of Brampton, and Toronto men Mohamed Abdalla, 24, and Afrah Mohamed, 30 face charges of intimidation of witnesses, obstruction of justice and violation of a Sec. 539 (1 ) requested.
Mohamed is also facing weapons charges after police discovered a firearm with a large magazine during their search.
The defendants are scheduled to appear in court in December.
straightouttathe6ixtv and keep6ixsolid are major players on Toronto’s Instagram music and cultural scene, attracting 273,000 and 117,000 followers respectively.
keep6ixsolid and thehood6ix were blocked on Monday, while the other two remain online.
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On twitter: @bryanpassifiume
Reference-torontosun.com