Montreal police arrest blogger alleged to have glorified Polytechnique mass murderer

Blogger glorified Polytechnique shooter: police Jean-Claude Rochefort was arrested for promoting violence against women on blogs online.

Montreal — On the 30th anniversary of the Montreal Massacre, Montreal police have announced that they have arrested an anti-feminist blogger who they allege glorifies the Polytechnique killer Marc Lepine.

Police say Jean-Claude Rochefort, 70, of Montreal, was arrested Thursday for inciting hatred against women, and has been behind bars since Friday. He will remain detained until his next court hearing on Monday, police said.

Publishing under several pseudonyms, Rochefort is accused of running blogs espousing anti-woman and anti-feminist views and advocating for "masculinism."

One blog has a series of posts counting down to "Marc Lepine Day," which is what Rochefort calls Dec. 6, the anniversary of the massacre.

Another recent post on a different blog referred to Lepine as an "incel lord," a reference to the online subculture of "involuntarily celibate" men whose online discussions are characterized by anti-feminism, misogyny and endorsing sexual violence against women.  (Lepine has become an icon for incel communities.)

The Montreal police department say investigators from its cyber-crimes division identified Rochefort as the author of several posts and arrested him at his Montreal home, where police say several incriminating computer files and equipment were seized.

In 2009, Rochefort was arrested for making death threats against women on a blog he devoted to Lepine. Prosecutors also wanted to charge him with incitement and wilful promotion of hatred, but a judge refused to accept those charges.

On Dec. 6, 1989, Marc Lepine killed 14 women at the Ecole Polytechnique because he believed they were feminists. He then killed himself.

On Friday, ceremonies were being held in Montreal and across the country to commemorate the victims of what has become known as the Montreal Massacre.