Windsor man found guilty of terrorism

22-year-old Bertrand was found guilty for a series of mischiefs and vandalism in Windsor. CTV’s Michelle Maluske reports.

A Windsor man has been found guilty of terrorism.

Seth Bertrand, 22, was charged with a single count of participating in a terrorist group for applying to the National Socialist Order (NSO) and Atomwaffen Division (AWD).

In February 2021, he applied online to a recruiter - using his school-issued tablet - offering his military and mechanic skills and admitting to holding offensive views about white supremacy.

“It’s not necessary that the activity actually be carried out, or that he knew the specific activity that will ultimately be carried out,” federal prosecutor Xenia Proestos said Thursday.

There is no evidence Bertrand carried out any activities on behalf of AWD or NSO.

Justice Maria Carroccia broke her 45-minute judgment into four parts; had the prosecutor proved AWD is the same as NSO, did Bertrand know they were a terrorist group, did he offer to participate in their activities, and did he offer to participate in an effort to enhance their activities.

On all four, Carroccia found yes, all had been proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

“The accused espoused the ideology that was antisemitic, anti-Black, and anti-LGBTQ,” the judge said. “He indicates in the application that he filed to join AWD/NSO that he wants to be a part of a group that is doing things.”

Defence lawyer Bobby Russon said his client’s reaction is “flat.”

“This is an unusual situation where I know, as his counsel and Mr. Bertrand knows as a person that he committed a moral wrong,” Russon said. “We didn’t hide from that. We agreed with everything he did.”

Russon sought to argue that applying to join a terrorist organization is not the same thing as carrying out an act on their behalf.

And he tried to discredit expert evidence on terrorist groups for failing to have written proof about what terrorist groups do or believe.

Justice Carroccia ruled the expert evidence was admissible and reliable because of how terrorist groups operate anonymously and clandestinely, with little physical evidence about what they subscribe to or how they choose to act.

“There’s no shock here. There’s no feeling like you weren’t heard,” Russon said.

He won’t say whether they are considering an appeal.

Russon and Proestos must now draft their sentencing submissions for the court.

Proestos told CTV News there is no minimum sentence but the maximum penalty for participation in terrorism is 10 years in prison.

Russon said there is no similar case in Canadian law for which to rely upon for sentencing precedent.

“I’m not trying to downplay the significance of this. You know, his ideologies are deplorable,” Russon said. “I don’t know of any case where an accused actual act was as low on the bar of criminality, and was convicted of a terrorism offence.”

He noted, however, he believes his client’s views are very different today than when he applied online in 2021.

“Hating people for any reason is bad, but hating people based solely on, race, sex, gender, creed, religion, or anything like that is obviously deplorable and has no place in the society,” Russon said. “That’s how I have always felt. That’s not always how Mr. Bertrand felt, but I do believe it is how he feels now.”