A Windsor man who tried to join an extreme right -wing organization has been convicted of participating in the activity of a terrorist group.
Seth Bertrand, 22, received the verdict in the Superior Court of Justice in Windsor on Thursday.
The position derives from Bertrand’s actions in 2021, when he submitted an online application to a group known as the Atomwaffen Division, also called the National Socialist Order or Front of National Socialist Resistance.
The Canadian government has considered the terrorist entity of Group A since 2021.
Inspired by the neo -Nazi James Mason writer, the Atomwaffen division demands armed violence with the ultimate goal of establishing a white ethnostate.
Justice Maria Caroccia ruled that Bertrand’s actions meet the four conditions of the position: that the group is terrorist, which Bertrand knew that it was so, that Bertrand participated in the group, and that their actions improved or contributed to the group.
The court heard that in Bertrand’s request, he promised his loyalty to the Atomwaffen division and offered his experience as a mechanic and military cadet.
In another online activity, Bertrand presented its real world activity in 2021, such as harassment of an LGBTQ+ couple and vandalism against a trans support group, as proof of their value for the recruitment of the Atomwafen division.
Those crimes resulted in Bertrand to declare themselves guilty in 2022 to three charges of mischief and a charge of inciting hatred.
The court heard that Bertrand also told an undercover RCMP officer about his attempts to join “domestic terrorism” and his desire to arm himself.
The conviction for the position of participating or contributing to a terrorist group does not have a minimal penalty, but entails a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
Bertrand is currently out of custody. A sentence hearing has been tentatively scheduled for October 6.
More to come.
