A Quebec man has been charged after he allegedly promoted the ideology of a terrorist group that aims to radicalize youth to commit violent acts and attempted to recruit teenagers on social media. The RCMP announced that 26-year-old Jeffrey Roussel was arrested on Tuesday and investigators seized a laptop and two cellphones from his home in Quebec City after executing a search warrant. He appeared at the Quebec City courthouse Wednesday to face multiple charges, including participation in the activities of a terrorist group, facilitating terrorist activity, and commission of an offence for a terrorist group. The accused, who lives in Quebec City’s La Cité-Limoilou borough and was not known to police, allegedly promoted the 764 terrorist group on the Telegram social media app, the Mounties alleged. The Integrated National Security Enforcement Team (INSET) started its investigation into Roussel in February and found that he allegedly published “graphic, violent and highly disturbing content” with the aim of inspiring and recruiting victims, mainly teenagers. Commission of an offence for a terrorist group carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. Group targets youth on gaming platforms, social media Last December, Canada was the first country to list the 764 network as a terrorist entity. According to the RCMP, 764 is a decentralized transnational network that promotes ideologically motivated violent extremism, which actively targets children and teens on popular online gaming or social media platforms, such as Roblox, Discord, Minecraft, and Telegram. “This group is taking more and more space on the online community. We are seeing more and more acts of this group online,” said RCMP Const. Marie-Pierre Guertin in an interview. Predators groom their victims online and extort them to commit violent and sexual acts, including self-harm. “Its objective is to manipulate, recruit and radicalize youth to commit violent acts, both online and offline, by disseminating propaganda and discourse that promotes violent extremism,” the RCMP said. Other Canadians have been charged in relation to their alleged ties to the group in recent years. In February 2024, a 14-year-old member from Alberta was charged with child pornography and explosives-related crimes. Police alleged the minor was active in extremist group chats and shared online content involving violence, weapons, self-harm, and sexual exploitation material. According to Public Safety Canada, the terrorist group aims to destroy civilized society through chaos and violence as a way to achieve notoriety amongst themselves. Their core beliefs are rooted in the hatred of humanity and nihilism. Parents should watch for warning signs The RCMP said parents should remain highly vigilant when youth are using online platforms and report any suspicious activity, such as their kids receiving physical or virtual gifts, changing their interests, particularly to extremist ideologies like school shootings and conspiracy theories. Other signs include self-harm, bandages on their arms, or if they’re writing in fake or real blood. “If you see something, say something. That’s what we’re trying to tell the public,” said Guertin. “So that’s what’s really important to us as a society, we have to work together to combat this, this type of terrorist group.” Parents can also visit the RCMP website for information on the predatory tactics used by violent online groups and what resources are available. People can report terrorism activity to the National Security Information Network. Immediate threats should be reported to 911.
