How one Lunenburg woman is choosing togetherness following viral Costco video

Hate-motivated crimes often go unreported, says Halifax Regional Police

Natasha Kent was horrified by the viral video captured at the Bayers Lake Costco. The hate-filled tirade, directed at two women wearing hijabs while shopping July 4, has garnered a lot of attention online . The video made Kent — who is Muslim, wears a hijab and runs a halal restaurant — feel more aware about being a visible minority.

She’s thought a lot about community and how different groups live together. But, at a time when people are chronically online and often divided, Kent said it’s important to be positive and realize we’re more similar than we are different. “That’s the only way we can be,” Kent told The Chronicle Herald at a seat in her cosy restaurant, the Hungry Traveler Cafe, on King Street in Lunenburg.

“After COVID, (a lot of us) are so entrenched in what we see on social media that we don’t get to talk to the people next door to us and we don’t get to see that positive person and all the things they’re doing for their community and their families. Related Police seek help identifying suspect responsible for ‘jarring’ racist tirade, assault at Bayers Lake Costco Police arrest, charge suspect after Halifax Costco tirade goes viral “I think of all the people that I’ve been able to share our experiences with about our religion and our culture and the things that we do, the celebrations that we have.

Christians in the community have come to me and said they see the similarities.” Randall Byron Publicover faces five charges from the incident: single counts of public incitement of hatred, assault and uttering threats and two counts of mischief. The National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM) thanked police on social media following news of the arrest and charges.

But they also said Muslims have endured hate in Canada with increasing frequency. A spokesperson for NCCM previously said Islamophobic incidents have been on the rise over the last six weeks, be it a vandalized mosque in Moncton or the Halifax Costco incident. “This cannot be the new normal.

We call on all leaders to help construct a new Islamophobia national strategy,” the organization said. Choosing togetherness over hate However, Islamophobia — and other hate-motivated crimes or incidents— often go unreported, something confirmed by data provided by Halifax Regional Police. There were six hate incidents and two hate crimes reported in 2024; 2025 saw only one hate crime reported.

Aside from Publicover’s charges, there’s only one other incident of Islamophobia reported in 2026. Kent said she’s faced her fair share of Islamophobia. “It’s scary because I have a young daughter and about every six months we get a slew of anti-Islamic posts on our social media,” she said, adding that she manages her own social media pages and deletes harmful messages because it’s easier than trying to report them, given many of originate from bots or outside her community.

“There’s nothing police can do about it. We know that,” said Kent. Const.

Martin Cromwell, a spokesperson for Halifax police, said it’s important people report offensive, threatening or intimidating behaviours. “Even if an investigation does not find criminal wrongdoing, it’s important to have it on record,” he said. In the days following the Costco incident, Kent took it upon herself to speak out, posting on her Facebook page a message about choosing togetherness over hate.

She said she wanted to speak out for those who can’t. It is, of course, about recognizing the good over the bad. “There’s much more of that than there ever is of hate,” Kent said.