Christopher Saccoccia, widely referred to as Chris Sky, is a Canadian

conspiracy theorist A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that invokes a conspiracy by sinister and powerful groups, often political in motivation, when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources: * * * * The term has a nega ...

known for his involvement in the

anti-mask During pandemics, some people have opposed requirements by governments and private establishments to wear face masks as a public health measure against disease. Such rules typically follow recommendations of health experts to reduce the spread o ...

, anti-lockdown, COVID-19 denial and

anti-vaccine Vaccine hesitancy is a delay in acceptance, or refusal, of vaccines despite the availability of vaccine services and supporting evidence. The term covers refusals to vaccinate, delaying vaccines, accepting vaccines but remaining uncertain abou ...

movements during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. Saccoccia faces a number of legal issues and criminal charges including for allegations of uttering

death threats A death threat is a threat, often made anonymously, by one person or a group of people to kill another person or group of people. These threats are often designed to intimidate victims in order to manipulate their behaviour, in which case a deat ...

against Ontario Premier

Doug Ford Douglas Robert Ford Jr. (born November 20, 1964) is a Canadian politician and businessman who has served as the 26th and current premier of Ontario since June 2018 and leader of the Progressive Conservative (PC) Party since March 2018. He ...

and other public figures and for assault of a police officer, among others.

Early life

Saccoccia is the son of

Vaughan Vaughan () (2021 population 323,103) is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located in the Regional Municipality of York, just north of Toronto. Vaughan was the fastest-growing municipality in Canada between 1996 and 2006 with its population increas ...

developer, and owner of Sky Homes Corp, Art Saccoccia.

Career

Saccoccia is the Vice President of his father's company, Sky Homes Corp.

Opposition to COVID-19 public health measures

Saccoccia believes that public health measures are unconstitutional, and violate human rights. He refers to his group's activities as a "freedom convoy" and attends rallies across Canada, dubbed "freedom rallies", meeting with groups of people at each event, and encourages them to engage in

civil disobedience Civil disobedience is the active, professed refusal of a citizen to obey certain laws, demands, orders or commands of a government (or any other authority). By some definitions, civil disobedience has to be nonviolent to be called "civil". Hen ...

against allegedly tyrannical public health measures, which he calls "united non-compliance." In 2020, Saccoccia founded a group known as "Mothers Against Distancing" and "Hugs Over Masks" following the outbreak of COVID-19 in Canada, protesting the public health measures introduced by the

Ontario government The government of Ontario (french: Gouvernement de l'Ontario) is the body responsible for the administration of the Canadian province of Ontario. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown—represented in the province by the lieutenant governor— ...

and

Toronto Public Health Toronto Public Health (TPH) is the public health unit in Toronto, Ontario. It is responsible for delivering public health programs and services, enforcing public health regulations and advising Toronto City Council on health issues. The current ...

. During the summer of 2021, Saccoccia joined an Italian online movement against lockdown and COVID's prevention measures called ''Mattonisti'' by putting a brick emoji after his Twitter's account name. The movement is allegedly responsible for manipulating Twitter's tendencies by pushing certain movement's slogans as hashtags, although the movement's leader deny that they have an agenda and affirm they are only an online friends group.

Opposition to face masks

Saccoccia believes that mask regulations such as one introduced by the

City of Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most pop ...

amount to a violation of human rights. He and his supporters distributed fake mask-exemption cards. In response, the

Canadian Human Rights Commission The Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC) was established in 1977 by the government of Canada. It is empowered under the ''Canadian Human Rights Act'' to investigate and to try to settle complaints of discrimination in employment and in the pro ...

discouraged the use of the fake cards,

Ontario premier The premier of Ontario (french: premier ministre de l'Ontario) is the head of government of Ontario. Under the Westminster system, the premier governs with the confidence of a majority the elected Legislative Assembly; as such, the premier typi ...

and

Toronto mayor The mayor of Toronto is the head of Toronto City Council and chief executive officer of the municipal government. The mayor is elected alongside city council every four years on the fourth Monday of October; there are no term limits. While in ...

John Tory John Howard Tory (born May 28, 1954) is a Canadian politician who has served as the 65th and current mayor of Toronto since 2014. After a career as a lawyer, political strategist and businessman, Tory ran as a mayoral candidate in the 2003 ...

warned that Saccoccia's group were "scammers", and confirmed the cards were fraudulent. In July 2020, Saccoccia and 40 activists from his Hugs Over Masks group entered a

Toronto Transit Commission The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) is the public transport agency that operates bus, subway, streetcar, and paratransit services in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, some of which run into the Peel Region and York Region. It is the oldest and largest ...

(TTC) subway station without masks to protest the introduction of a mask by-law on the TTC, again claiming an exemption. Soccoccia does not believe the use of face masks is an effective method of preventing the spread of

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. He founded the Mothers Against Distancing group to protest the use of masks at schools, stating the children are "in a constant state of anxiety and fear, so there's no way they'll learn anything". Saccoccia attempted to start a private school, known as "Private-On-Demand Education Inc." without masks and public health measures, arguing that he can " rotectand save countless children from the government that is attempting to harm them psychologically and socially condition them for a life of fear and compliance." The psychotherapist who provided Sky and his wife with mask exemptions, Mary Elizabeth O’Connor, is one of four Ontario doctors under investigation for professional misconduct in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic and her completion of medical exemptions for COVID-19 vaccinations and diagnostic testing by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario. Sky can be heard stating which doctor gave him the exemption while in a public video he posted to his Telegram account from the day he and his wife were detained by West Edmonton Mall security for failing to obey a no trespass order on Saturday December 4, 2021. The

College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO) is the regulatory college for medical doctors in Ontario, Canada. The college issues certificates of registration for all doctors to allow them to practise medicine as well as: monitors an ...

suspended Dr O'Connor on 23 December 2021.

Vaccines

Saccoccia is

and promotes

COVID-19 vaccine misinformation and hesitancy Anti-vaccination activists and other people in many countries have spread a variety of unfounded conspiracy theories and other misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines based on misunderstood or misrepresented science, religion, exaggerated cl ...

. He opposes

vaccine mandates A vaccination policy is a health policy adopted in order to prevent the spread of infectious disease. These policies are generally put into place by State or local governments, but may also be set by private facilities, such as workplaces or s ...

and

COVID-19 vaccine passports A vaccine passport or proof of vaccination is an immunity passport employed as a credential in countries and jurisdictions as part of efforts to control the COVID-19 pandemic via vaccination. A vaccine passport is typically issued by a governm ...

being used during the Canadian COVID-19 vaccine rollout.

Political views

Saccoccia said in late 2020 that he believed that Canadian government was moving toward

communism Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

, and that a new political party would be unveiled in the new year. Saccoccia informed followers to attend election rallies in protest against Canadian Prime Minister

Justin Trudeau Justin Pierre James Trudeau ( , ; born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who is the 23rd and current prime minister of Canada. He has served as the prime minister of Canada since 2015 and as the leader of the Liberal Party since 2 ...

during the

2021 Canadian federal election The 2021 Canadian federal election was held on September 20, 2021, to elect members of the House of Commons to the 44th Canadian Parliament. The writs of election were issued by Governor General Mary Simon on August 15, 2021, when Prime Minist ...

. In 2021 he supported the Republican Party of Canada. In 2022, Saccoccia suggested that the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...

was justified and suggested Ukrainians were open to their Russian invaders. He connected Deputy Prime Minister of Canada

Chrystia Freeland Christina Alexandra Freeland (born August 2, 1968) is a Canadian politician serving as the tenth and current deputy prime minister of Canada since 2019 and the Minister of Finance (Canada), minister of finance since 2020. A member of the Libe ...

with his views on both the

Canada convoy protest A series of protests and blockades in Canada against COVID-19 vaccine mandates and restrictions, called the Freedom Convoy (french: Convoi de la liberté, links=no) by organizers, began in early 2022. The initial convoy movement was created t ...

and the invasion of Ukraine. Sky suggested the 2014 annexation of Crimea was justified as

Crimea Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a pop ...

was always Russian property. He also suggested the

Ukraine biolabs conspiracy theory In March 2022, during Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Russian officials falsely claimed that public health facilities in Ukraine were "secret U.S.-funded biolabs" purportedly developing biological weapons, which was debunked as disinformation by m ...

was true and made fun of

Volodymyr Zelenskyy Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy, ; russian: Владимир Александрович Зеленский, Vladimir Aleksandrovich Zelenskyy, (born 25 January 1978; also transliterated as Zelensky or Zelenskiy) is a Ukrainian politicia ...

's acting career.

Arrests

Saccoccia, along with his wife and other followers of his loosely organized group have been arrested multiple times over the course of the

COVID-19 pandemic in Canada The COVID-19 pandemic in Canada is part of the ongoing worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (). It is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). Most cases over the course of the pandemic have been in Ontario, Que ...

. Saccoccia and his wife were charged under the '' Quarantine Act'' on October 6, 2020. The pair had returned from an anti-mask event in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

on September 20, 2020 and had been spotted at a Toronto anti-mask event the following week. They were the first in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most pop ...

to be criminally charged under the act. Saccoccia later travelled to

the Maritimes The Maritimes, also called the Maritime provinces, is a region of Eastern Canada consisting of three provinces: New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. The Maritimes had a population of 1,899,324 in 2021, which makes up 5.1% of Ca ...

for planned rallies and on October 9, 2020, the

Royal Canadian Mounted Police The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; french: Gendarmerie royale du Canada; french: GRC, label=none), commonly known in English as the Mounties (and colloquially in French as ) is the federal police, federal and national police service of ...

(RCMP) arrested him following a disturbance on his flight into

Moncton Moncton (; ) is the most populous city in the Canadian province of New Brunswick. Situated in the Petitcodiac River Valley, Moncton lies at the geographic centre of the Maritime Provinces. The city has earned the nickname "Hub City" because o ...

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen Provinces and territories of Canada, provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic Canad ...

. He was scheduled to attend an event in Halifax,

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native En ...

on October 11, however he was escorted back to the airport and took a flight leaving the region. On January 24, 2021, Saccoccia was charged with being a common nuisance and four counts of public mischief following an anti-mask event in Toronto. At

Toronto Pearson Airport Lester B. Pearson International Airport , commonly known as Toronto Pearson International Airport, is an international airport located in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. It is the main airport serving Toronto, its metropolitan area, and the surro ...

on April 6, 2021, Saccoccia discovered he had been placed on the

Passenger Protect Passenger Protect, commonly referred to as the Canadian no-fly list, is the Canadian government initiative to identify individuals who may be an "immediate threat to aviation security" and prevent them from boarding a flight, The program consists ...

list (commonly referred to as the Canadian

No Fly List The No Fly List maintained by the United States federal government's Terrorist Screening Center (TSC) is one of several lists included in algorithmic rulesets used by government agencies and airlines to decide who to allow to board airline flig ...

) after Flair Airlines declined to allow him onto a flight to attend anti-mask events in

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

. On April 18, 2021, Saccoccia was then arrested by the

Thunder Bay Police Service Thunder is the sound caused by lightning. Depending upon the distance from and nature of the lightning, it can range from a long, low rumble to a sudden, loud crack. The sudden increase in temperature and hence pressure caused by the lightnin ...

after an organized gathering. He was charged with breach of undertaking under the '' Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act'', and was released the following Tuesday with a future court date. On April 29, 2021, the province of

Manitoba , image_map = Manitoba in Canada 2.svg , map_alt = Map showing Manitoba's location in the centre of Southern Canada , Label_map = yes , coordinates = , capital = Win ...

announced it would issue Saccoccia with two $1,296 fines, following his attendance at a rally in Winnipeg on April 25. On May 12, 2021, Saccoccia was alleged to have told fellow anti-mask advocate Rob Carbone that he wished to shoot and kill him and Premier

along with every premier in Canada. The incident was reported to the

Toronto Police Service The Toronto Police Service (TPS) is a municipal police force in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and the primary agency responsible for providing law enforcement and policing services in Toronto. Established in 1834, it was the first local police ser ...

on May 19, and a police constable attended his residence in King to effect an arrest. Saccoccia entered a car, drove towards the officer and fled. He later turned himself in at Toronto Police 53 Division and was charged with uttering death threats, assaulting a police officer, and dangerous operation of a vehicle. On August 24, 2021, Saccoccia was arrested in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749 ...

Manitoba , image_map = Manitoba in Canada 2.svg , map_alt = Map showing Manitoba's location in the centre of Southern Canada , Label_map = yes , coordinates = , capital = Win ...

following a rally at the

University of Winnipeg The University of Winnipeg (UWinnipeg, UW) is a public research university in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, that offers undergraduate faculties of art, business and economics, education, science and kinesiology and applied health as well as gr ...

. The

Winnipeg police The Winnipeg Police Service is the police force of the city of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. History When Winnipeg became a city, in 1873, an election was held to select the city's new mayor and aldermen. Those appointed decided to hire city o ...

stated that they arrested Saccoccia on a warrant for contravention of the ''Public Health Act'' that was issued in May, as he had violated Manitoba's self-isolation requirements for people entering the province, and attended an anti-mask rally that violated restrictions that limited outdoor gatherings to a maximum of 10 people. Following his release, his bail hearing was set for October 5, 2021. On September 10, 2021, Saccoccia was arrested in

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Hamilton has a population of 569,353, and its census metropolitan area, which includes Burlington and Grimsby, has a population of 785,184. The city is approximately southwest of ...

for breach of undertaking. On September 26, 2021, Saccoccia organized a protest at Yonge-Dundas Square in

. He encouraged his followers to go to businesses unmasked and unvaccinated. Two other protesters were arrested by Toronto Police following an attempted storming of the

Toronto Eaton Centre The Toronto Eaton Centre (corporately styled as the CF Toronto Eaton Centre since September 2015, and commonly referred to simply as the Eaton Centre) is a shopping mall and office complex in the downtown core of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It ...

. On November 7, 2021, Saccoccia was arrested by the Calgary Police Service and charged with mischief after encouraging his supporters to drive extremely slowly around airports in an attempt to block traffic to arrivals areas. On November 18, 2021 Saccoccia was arrested by West Edmonton Mall security for trespassing. On December 4, 2021 Saccoccia, dressed as

Santa Claus Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring children gifts during the late evening and overnigh ...

, was arrested in

Edmonton, Alberta Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city anch ...

at a Build-A-Bear Workshop located in

West Edmonton Mall West Edmonton Mall (WEM) is a shopping mall in Edmonton, Alberta, that is owned, managed, and operated by Triple Five Group. It is the second most visited mall in Canada, after the Toronto Eaton Centre in Toronto, followed by Metrotown Mall in ...

during a protest. He was arrested on outstanding warrants including uttering threats and public mischief along with his wife regarding an injunction banning both from the mall. A third individual, Zeeshan Ahmed (self proclaimed Dr. Zee) was also arrested for breaching the injunction.

Controversies

According to screenshots posted in a piece on Saccoccia by the

Canadian Anti-Hate Network The Canadian Anti-Hate Network (CAHN) is a Canadian nonprofit organization that monitors hate groups, far-right groups, and hate crimes in Canada. It was formed in 2018 in Toronto, Ontario and receives funding from the Government of Canada. CAHN ...

, he has engaged online in rhetoric regarding

Holocaust denial Holocaust denial is an antisemitic conspiracy theory that falsely asserts that the Nazi genocide of Jews, known as the Holocaust, is a myth, fabrication, or exaggeration. Holocaust deniers make one or more of the following false statements: ...

and

anti-semitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Ant ...

, anti-black

racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...

Islamophobia Islamophobia is the fear of, hatred of, or prejudice against the religion of Islam or Muslims in general, especially when seen as a geopolitical force or a source of terrorism. The scope and precise definition of the term ''Islamophobia ...

homophobia Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who are identified or perceived as being lesbian, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, hatred or antipathy ...

and

transphobia Transphobia is a collection of ideas and phenomena that encompass a range of negative attitudes, feelings, or actions towards transgender people or transness in general. Transphobia can include fear, aversion, hatred, violence or anger tow ...

. In April 2021, Saccoccia was removed from

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

for violating community standards. A spokesperson for

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin ...

(Instagram's parent company) said: "We will not tolerate content on our platform about COVID-19 that could lead to harm, including harmful vaccine misinformation and content promoting widely debunked hoaxes." In December 2021, Saccoccia was suspended from

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

for breaching the site's community standards. He has also been suspended from

TikTok TikTok, known in China as Douyin (), is a short-form video hosting service owned by the Chinese company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which can range in duration from 15 seconds to 10 minutes. TikTok is an international version ...

and Facebook. Following his arrest in Thunder Bay, Saccocia and his associates demanded free food at a restaurant in Sault Ste. Marie. When the owner declined, the group began to leave negative online reviews at the business. The Forks Market in Winnipeg closed its doors on April 25, 2021, in response to safety concerns caused by Saccocia's group during a rally. A pharmacy in Maple Creek, Saskatchewan, also closed the previous day as a result of the group moving through the town. In

London, Ontario London (pronounced ) is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, along the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. The city had a population of 422,324 according to the 2021 Canadian census. London is at the confluence of the Thames River, approximat ...

in October 2021, Saccoccia organized a rally that surpassed more than 1,000 people in attendance. Local businesses were advised to close, with some saying that staff had been harassed during a previous Saccocia rally in the district.

Personal life

Saccoccia lives in

King, Ontario King (2021 population 27,333) is a township in York Region north of Toronto, within the Greater Toronto Area in Ontario, Canada. The rolling hills of the Oak Ridges Moraine are the most prominent visible geographical feature of King. The Hollan ...

, in the Region of York with his wife, Jennifer Saccoccia.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sky, Chris COVID-19 conspiracy theorists Canadian anti-communists Canadian anti-vaccination activists Vaccine hesitancy Living people Canadian conspiracy theorists Activists from Ontario Real estate and property developers Year of birth missing (living people)