A 38-year-old man from Granby has been charged with two counts of inciting hate and one count of advocating genocide with the intent to destroy an identifiable group.
Valentin Auclair appeared in court on Tuesday afternoon following his arrest in connection with threats made against minority groups in online posts.
He is also ordered to undergo a psychiatric evaluation at a local hospital before his next court appearance on Jan. 13.
Granby police said Auclair was arrested around 5:30 p.m. Monday at his home in the town. He later met with investigators, according to police.
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Police said the arrest came after an article in La Voix de l’Est reported about an alleged Nazi sympathizer who had been identified by a CEGEP professor.
Caroline Garland, a spokesperson for police, said a Montreal resident contacted investigators because he was worried by the posts he saw online.
Auclair was not someone previously known to investigators, according to police.
“This is an accusation which is still rare in the past few years and it is an individual with no criminal priors,” said Garland.
— With files from Global News’ Tim Sargeant
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