On Feb. 15, 1996, during Canada's annual, and usually low-key Flag Day celebration, Prime Minister Jean Chretien was visiting the city of Hull, Quebec, just across the river from Ottawa. During his walk through the crowd, a shouting protester came face-to-face with Chretien. Acting instinctively to defend himself, the Prime Minister grabbed the protestor by the neck and briefly throttled him. It was all recorded on video and made the nightly news.
This WWF class move led to Chretien being dubbed the Shawinigan Strangler by wags (Shawinigan is the PM's home town and riding).
To quote the PM at the time: "I had to go, so if you are in my way, I am walking ... I don't know what happened. Something happened to someone who should not have been there." Wise words, indeed.