'It's incredibly disturbing': B.C. public safety minister responds after mock hangings at legislature

British Columbia's public safety minister says it was incredibly disturbing to see effigies of senior provincial cabinet ministers hanged by the neck outside the B.C. legislature last week.

The display was part of a rally Thursday organized by opponents of COVID-19 vaccine mandates.

It was held on the 75th anniversary of the start of the Nuremberg doctors trial in which Nazi doctors were convicted and hanged for their roles in human experimentation and mass murder.

In videos from the rally posted to social media Thursday, effigies of Premier John Horgan, Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth and Health Minister Adrian Dix were hanged on the steps of the legislature as hundreds of rally-goers looked on.

A fourth effigy was hanged alongside the ministers but it could not be clearly identified in the videos.

"It's incredibly disturbing when you see that and it's also pathetic too," Farnworth said during an interview with CFAX 1070 on Monday.

"When you're doing something that’s threatening, sending a message of violence to an individual, there's just no place for that," the public safety minister added.

In a statement posted to her Twitter account, B.C. Finance Minister Selina Robinson called the display "horrifying and absolutely unacceptable."

Farnworth said the actions of the rally attendees "represent a very, very tiny fraction of public opinion."

B.C. health officials are scheduled to provide a written update Monday on the latest cases of COVID-19 in the province as new cases in the Vancouver Island region began a sharp climb last week.