Calgary

Tuscany LRT racist graffiti offender, Kyle McKenzie, sentenced to 8 months in jail

Kyle McKenzie, the Calgary man who spray-painted racist graffiti at the Tuscany LRT station in December, has been sentenced to eight months in jail.

Kyle McKenzie says anger at ISIS was misplaced

Racist and threatening words were spray painted on property and cars at the Tuscany LRT station in December. (CBC)

The Calgary man who spray-painted racist graffiti all over the Tuscany LRT station in December was sentenced on Friday to eight months in jail.

Kyle McKenzie was charged with inciting hatred and mischief over $5,000. He was also sentenced to three months in custody for vandalizing a Canadian Tire on the same day as the graffiti incident.

With credit for the time he's already spent in custody, McKenzie will be released in the next day or two.

McKenzie told police he spray-painted the hateful graffiti because he was "mad at ISIS" over last year's Paris attack.

But he told the judge he's changed his views since being incarcerated.

"[I] no longer feel hate toward Muslim or Syrian people," he said in a statement last month. "I would also like to apologize to the Syrian and Muslim community for writing hateful, ignorant messages."

Calgary police released this and several other images of the two male suspects in connection with anti-Muslim graffiti at the Tuscany LRT station in Calgary. (Calgary Police Service)

Two men were seen on CCTV entering the Tuscany station around 5:45 p.m. on Dec. 3 and using gold spray paint to write messages throughout the station, on a C-Train car, and on five private vehicles parked outside.

Miguel Lavergne and McKenzie were arrested days later. 

Lavergne's charges were recently stayed.