A Windsor man who, as a teenager, tried to join a neo-Nazi group and pledged to support its terrorist activities has been sentenced to nine months in jail. Seth Bertrand, now 23, was convicted last August of knowingly participating in or contributing to the activities of a terrorist group after filing an online application in 2021 to join the Atomwaffen Division (AWD), later rebranded as National Socialist Order (NSO).
Sentencing Decision
Superior Court Justice Maria Carroccia delivered the sentencing decision on Wednesday, noting that Bertrand was entrenched in the ideology of a white ethnostate. She emphasized that terrorism offences are serious and violate the values held sacred by Canadian society. However, she declined the Crown's suggestion of a three-year penitentiary sentence, opting instead for a nine-month jail term followed by three years of probation.
Risk of Indoctrination
The judge pointed to Bertrand's weak problem-solving skills and anti-social personality traits, which put him at risk of being indoctrinated by extremist ideologies. She expressed concern that a penitentiary could be more harmful to him and to society by exposing a vulnerable individual to negative influences.
Bertrand was arrested in 2022 following an elaborate RCMP-led sting operation involving undercover officers who gained his trust by posing as like-minded individuals. In his online application to join Atomwaffen, Bertrand wrote of a beautiful future following a race war in which the white race wins and establishes an ethnocentric, heterosexual nation without gay people, Blacks, Jews, and Hispanics, labeling them as the enemy.
Legal Context
While not charged with any specific act of terrorism, Justice Carroccia referred to the preventative purpose of the legislation that makes it a crime to directly or indirectly enhance the ability of a terrorist group to facilitate or carry out terrorist activities. The defence had sought a suspended sentence with three years of probation, but the judge imposed a custodial sentence.
Bertrand's lawyer, Bobby Russon, was present at the sentencing hearing. The case highlights the ongoing efforts by Canadian authorities to combat extremist ideologies and prevent individuals from supporting terrorist organizations.
