Zundel had booked a room on Parliament Hill that is usually available to individuals who want to hold a news conference on subjects related to federal government business. He had intended to denounce a ruling of the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal, which is holding hearings to determine whether he is spreading hate via the Internet.

Banned from his native Germany, Zundel has been known for occasional theatrics in his tireless campaign to prove that the Holocaust is a Jewish hoax. He once dragged a cross through the streets of Toronto to show how he was being pilloried by the establishment. More recently, he wore a yarmulke during his Human Rights Tribunal hearing.