Jayden Baldonado, a former Green Party of Canada youth candidate and activist, has issued a public apology following a wave of backlash over a social media post in which he appeared to condone the killing of two Israeli diplomats in Washington, D.C. The original tweet was widely interpreted as celebrating the assassinations, prompting an official statement from the Green Party denouncing violence and launching an internal investigation.
In his written statement, Baldonado directly addressed the controversy:
“I’d like to offer my sincerest apologies to any members of the Jewish community to whom I have caused harm with the reactionary Tweet I posted last week,” he wrote. “I definitely could’ve worded my post a lot better—it came off as celebrating or glorifying the recent killings of 2 Israeli diplomats, which was not my intent.”
Baldonado acknowledged that his phrase “those in power” could be interpreted as an antisemitic dogwhistle, referencing tropes of Jewish control, and took responsibility for the impact of his words. He described his post as reactionary and poorly framed.
At the same time, Baldonado used the statement to call for a broader discussion on the concepts of nonviolence and pacifism, both within political movements and in society at large.
“Top-down violence is normalized and even celebrated—poverty, policing, incarceration, colonialism, coercion, and of course genocide are rampant as a direct result of existing power structures,” he wrote.
He argued that peaceful protest is routinely ignored or repressed, and that some people may feel forced into direct, even violent, resistance in response to systemic injustice. He drew a distinction between “indiscriminate massacres of civilians” and “targeted assassinations of government officials, corporate executives, and those who enforce unjust systems.”
“I hate what the world has come to, and would love for there to be a peaceful solution to global injustice, but in order for that to be possible, something major has to change,” Baldonado added. “A pacifist society is the ideal, but is not possible until the power imbalances present in our world have been levelled.”
The statement is likely to draw mixed responses—some will view it as a sincere and principled clarification, while others may see it as continuing to rationalize political violence. It is also unclear whether Baldonado remains under active investigation by the Green Party or if any disciplinary action will follow.
The controversy has emerged amid a broader reckoning within the party over its values, messaging, and internal accountability. While the party leadership, including Elizabeth May, has emphasized a strong commitment to nonviolence, critics have pointed out a selective application of those principles—particularly when it comes to state violence, foreign policy, or the promotion of militarism by figures like former youth wing president Jayden Braves, who has never been publicly condemned despite pro-NATO messaging and imagery involving firearms.
As of publication, the Green Party has not issued a follow-up statement regarding Baldonado’s apology.
