A 19-year-old Windsor, Ont., man has been charged with terrorism after he allegedly enlisted to join the far-right Atomwaffen Division.
Seth Bertrand faces a charge of participating in the activity of a terrorist group, the RCMP said in a news release Friday.
Police alleged he filled out an online application to join Atomwaffen, and “offered his skills and commitment” to the terror group.
It marks one of the few times Canadian authorities have laid terrorism charges related to alleged far-right extremism.
Last year, the suspect accused of fatally ramming a Muslim family with his truck in London, Ont., was charged with committing murder as a terrorist activity.
But Prof. Michael Nesbitt said the Windsor case was the first time prosecutors had charged an alleged right wing extremist with participating in terrorist group activity.
“That is a big deal for a few reasons. Perhaps most importantly, our criminal terrorism offences were intended first and foremost to be preventive, that is to capture activity before a serious attack occurs,” said Nesbitt, a University of Calgary law professor.
“This is what was intended by our legislation, yet for whatever reason, we had not seen the preemption of far-right activity with terrorism charges until now,” he said.
“This is an indication that the RCMP is indeed putting resources towards the investigation of far-right actors and that they believe, along with Canadian prosecutors, that Canadian terrorism laws are equally capable of capturing activities of the far right that they believe rises to the level of terrorism”
The terrorism charge stemmed from Bertrand’s arrest last year for allegedly vandalizing a transgender support centre in Windsor.
According to Ontario court records, Bertrand was charged with allegedly damaging the front window of the We Transgender and Support Centre in February, 2021.
He was also charged with inciting hatred against the LGBTQ community, as well as other alleged acts of mischief and possession of a prohibited weapon, namely a knife.
In its news release, the RCMP said “an individual committed various hate motivated offences in the Windsor area” between Feb. 12 and May 20, 2021.
As a result of that investigation, the RCMP’s Integrated National Security Enforcement Team found evidence leading to the Atomwaffen allegations against Bertrand.
Windsor Police declined to comment on any links between the cases.
“To protect the integrity of the investigation and subsequent court proceedings, we cannot confirm nor deny that the person who has been arrested and charged by RCMP is the same person who was charged with vandalism from last year,” said Darius Goze, the Windsor police spokesperson.
The Ontario Provincial Police Provincial Anti-Terrorism Section was also involved in the investigation, RCMP said.
Atomwaffen was added to Canada’s list of terrorist groups on Feb. 3, 2021.
Also known as the National Socialist Order, Atomwaffen is “an international neo-Nazi terror group,” according to Public Safety Canada.
“The group calls for acts of violence against racial, religious, and ethnic groups, and informants, police, and bureaucrats, to prompt the collapse of society.”
Members receive weapons and hand-to-hand combat training at so-called “hate camps,” the government alleges in its listing.
“This is a good example of what extremism experts have been saying for some time, especially around the importance of listing far-right organizations,” said Prof. Amarnath Amarasingam, a Queen’s University terrorism expert.
“Not only does it communicate to Canadians that all kinds of threats are taken seriously, but also restricts a lot of the harmful activity these organizations used to be able to do out in the open, from fundraising to recruitment.”
Stewart.Bell@globalnews.ca
Comments