A 19-year-old Calgary man breached the conditions of his terrorism peace bond after continuing to post extremist content online, including pro-Nazi material and ISIS propaganda, leading to a tense courtroom exchange with a judge. The teen, whose identity is protected under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, will be sentenced later this spring.
The breach involved multiple violations of court orders, including posting extremist videos on social media despite being banned from online platforms and taking a selfie at a synagogue. Justice Todd LaRochelle convicted the teen of breaching the peace bond, describing his behaviour as racist, homophobic and bigoted.
During the hearing, the teen argued that his online activity was meant to “educate” himself about Nazi history, claiming the group had also suffered atrocities. The judge rejected the argument, telling him to stop justifying hateful ideologies while acknowledging the court cannot force him to change his beliefs.
The judge urged the teenager to seek counselling and participate in programs addressing ideological extremism before sentencing, emphasizing the harm caused by extremist ideologies over the past century. Prosecutors noted that the teen’s interest in Nazi ideology appeared to be a new development.
The teen was first placed under a terrorism peace bond in 2023 following an RCMP national security investigation that identified him as a moderate risk to public safety and at high risk of joining an extremist group. Court documents previously described him as having a fixation on violent extremist ideologies.
Crown prosecutors and defence counsel jointly proposed an 18-month probation sentence with strict conditions, including bans on accessing extremist content, promoting hatred, attending LGBTQS2+ events or visiting synagogues, and posting about those groups online. Both sides warned that any further breach would likely result in jail time.
The case is linked to a broader extremist network in Calgary, where multiple youths were charged after sharing ISIS propaganda in private online groups. One adult involved in the case has already been sentenced to prison for facilitating terrorist activity.
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