A court has ruled the editor and publisher of a neo-Nazi tabloid should face charges of uttering threats against a Toronto couple.

In the most recent issue of “Your Ward News,” editor James Sears suggested his followers may “do something illegal like bludgeon the Kinsellas to death.”

In a hearing Wednesday morning at Old City Hall, a judge agreed with political activists Lisa and Warren Kinsella that both Sears and publisher Leroy St. Germaine should be charged with uttering threats.

“We are relieved and grateful the court agreed with us,” Lisa Kinsella said in a statement.

“It was a clear attempt to intimidate us and stop us from opposing the hate propagated in Your Ward News. It won’t work.”

The Kinsellas have been in a longstanding battle with the publication, and last year their group Standing Together Against Mailing Prejudice (STAMP) got Canada Post to stop delivering the paper, which has provoked outrage over its content..

The publication — reportedly distributed by a private company and volunteers, and posted online — routinely contains articles maligning women, Jews, Muslims and the LGBTQ community.

“We now call on other levels of government to do what Canada has done, and take immediate and concrete action against these haters,” said Warren Kinsella, a lawyer who has written about hate groups in Canada.

“We shouldn’t have to initiate private prosecutions to get action. Ontario and the City of Toronto now need to step up and help eliminate hate.”

Sears challenged the order and a hearing to review the decision began in late April.

In an email, Sears called the complaint absurd and “baseless,” and suggested the court was lacking key information.

“My legal team and I will mop the floor with the Kinsellas on our first available opportunity in court but in the meantime, we will enjoy the free publicity that Daisy Group (the company run by the Kinsellas) has once again garnered for ‘Your Ward News,'” he said.

With files from The Canadian Press

Related stories:

Your Ward News reignites debate over free speech

Hate crime investigation launched over Your Ward News

Temporary ban on delivery of controversial newspaper under review