Barrie police put handcuffs on an individual they allege stopped in front of the cenotaph at Memorial Square downtown ahead of Thursday's 80th anniversary D-Day parade and used chalk to draw a large circle and placed a message around it.
Officers stepped in as the person began to yell at people in the area and arrested the 49-year-old for breach of peace.
The individual was taken to police headquarters.
"As a result of the investigation that followed, and given that the mischief was done in relation to the structure or part thereof that primarily serves as a monument to honour persons who were killed or died as a consequence of war, the arrested person was charged with mischief relating to war memorial and causing a disturbance by shouting," police said in a news release.
The chalk and message drawn was immediately removed by city staff.
The D-Day parade in Barrie featured local veterans, members from Canadian Forces Base Borden, the Grey and Simcoe Foresters and first responders.
