Terrorism trial begins against Windsor man targeted by police, intelligence agency

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If he ever harbored serious ambitions to participate in or contribute to an international terrorist group, a young Windsor man insisted to an RCMP officer who arrested him that those days were long gone a long time.

“What? I haven’t been active in this area forever, sir,” Seth Bertrand said in a conversation recorded by police the day a large group of federal and city agents picked him up while he was walking along a sidewalk on Dominion Boulevard on the afternoon of May 5, 2022.

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What Bertrand, 19 years old at the time, meant by “that thing” is at the heart of a criminal trial that began Tuesday before Superior Court Judge Maria Carroccia.

Recommended by Const. Mark Thomaes of the RCMP’s Integrated National Security Team (INSERT), while being arrested for “terrorist offences”, Bertrand is heard responding in a recording played in court: “There must be a mistake . »

According to the RCMP, at the time of his arrest, Bertrand had applied online to join the far-right group Atomwaffen Division and “offered his skills and commitment to doing things for this listed terrorist entity.”

The Atomwaffen Division is an international neo-Nazi terrorist network founded in 2013 in the southern United States. It is linked to murders in the United States and around the world, financed by criminal activities such as arms trading and theft.

The case before Carroccia this week is a mixed trial and voir dire, with the judge yet to rule on a defense Charter request that the case against Bertrand should be dropped because the accused would not have been properly informed of his rights to legal assistance. lawyer before a statement he then made to the police.

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Bertrand’s lawyer, Bobby Russon, told the court that his client did not understand why he was arrested, and the defense argued Tuesday that police did not make enough effort to get Bertrand to make contact with his lawyer, who was on vacation at the time. . Justice Carroccia is reserving judgment on the Charter challenge until after the trial, which continues this week, and later in November.

Thomaes, the arresting officer and the prosecution’s first witness, said Bertrand responded that he understood what he was accused of. Asked by Federal Public Prosecution Service of Canada Crown lawyer Xenia Proestos if he had any concerns about the accused’s mental state or his “ability to understand what you were saying,” Thomaes said. answered: “No”.

I’m not a fucking terrorist, man

After his arrest, Bertrand was taken to Windsor police headquarters. Thomaes told the booking officer in the holding cell area that Bertrand was accused of “terrorism.”

According to police audio played in court, Bertrand responded: “I’m not a fucking terrorist, man. ” He had earlier told the RCMP officer: “I’ve been trying to clean up my life. »

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Just months after his arrest by the RCMP, Bertrand pleaded guilty to separate hate crimes against members of the local LGBTQ+ community: three charges of mischief, one charge of violating a court order, and one charge of inciting hatred.

He was responsible for a series of disturbing vandalism incidents at people’s homes and the Trans Wellness Ontario office in Windsor between February 12 and May 20, 2021, and was sentenced to five months of house arrest with electronic monitoring.

But Bertrand is fighting the latest federal charges. Under Canada’s Anti-terrorism Act, 2001, a conviction for the rarely charged Criminal Code charge of “participation in the activity of a terrorist group” can result in a prison sentence of up to 10 years.

Thomaes said the RCMP’s INSERT team — itself overseen by the Federal Police’s national security program — was aided in its covert investigation into Bertrand by the Windsor Police Service, the Provincial Anti-Terrorism Section of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP PATS) and even the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS).

On the morning of Bertrand’s arrest, Thomaes told the court that about 20 officers met and assigned their roles for the day as part of the culmination of what was dubbed Project Sueno.

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When Russon tried Tuesday to get more details about CSIS’s involvement, the prosecutor in the case objected: “You can’t ask that.” »

It is illegal to knowingly disclose any information obtained by Canada’s federal spy agency.

In a press release issued by the RCMP in May 2022, it was Windsor police investigating early cases of local vandalism which led to the secret investigation and discovery of Bertrand’s alleged connection to the Atomwaffen division.

According to Public Safety Canada, the Atomwaffen Division – also known as the National Socialist Resistance Front and listed by Canada as a terrorist group in 2021 – “calls for acts of violence against racial, religious and ethnic groups, as well as against informants, police and bureaucrats. , to cause the collapse of society. It organized “training camps, also known as hate camps, where its members receive training in weapons and hand-to-hand combat.”

At the time of Bertrand’s arrest, INSERT Insp. Cheryl Brunet-Smith said in a press release that “the RCMP remains committed to and strongly resists ideologically motivated violent extremists who threaten the public safety of all Canadians.”

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