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He accused the group Thursday of “riling people up” outside meetings, taking protest signs into events, and duping unsuspecting residents into signing a petition falsely billed as a city sign- up sheet.

“It is very clear that this stuff happened,” Nenshi told reporters. “When I hear someone saying about one of my colleagues, ‘Where is that bitch? I want to strangle her.’ This is not acceptable.

“People have to take responsibility for their actions and if the Ready to Engage group is not willing to take responsibility for their actions, well, this then is the result,” he said.

Donkers maintains it’s the mayor who needs to take responsibility for levelling serious accusations without providing evidence anyone from Ready to Engage was involved in the alleged disturbances.

While media outlets and hundreds of residents, many with smartphones, attended Tuesday’s meeting no one has produced any video or audio to support the mayor’s claims, said Donkers.

A spokeswoman for the Calgary Police Service said officers were looking into the allegations but could not provide further details.

“It’s very easy for the mayor to blame Ready to Engage when he’s not criticizing specific individuals that he can connect to the group,” he said in an interview. “This is a bully tactic on behalf of the mayor.

“We are going to encourage people to continue asking questions and seek answers as is their democratic right,” Donkers said. “If there’s anyway we can facilitate we will work towards it.”