Ontario Man Sentenced for Terrorism, Hate Crimes

0:00It's March 27th. This is Canada News Today, AI-powered stories from your city. I'm Corey with the story. An Ontario court has sentenced Matthew Althorpe to 20 years in prison for terrorism-related crimes. The 30-something man from the province pleaded guilty last fall to charges, including facilitating terrorist acts, instructing others to commit, them, and promoting hatred for a terrorist group. This came down on Friday in the Superior Court of Justice. Althorpe created videos, images, and posts on telegram that spread hate against minorities. He did this to support neo-Nazi outfits, like the Adam Waffin division and the Tehrir Graham Collective. Those groups pushed violence against racial, religious, and ethnic communities to tear down society, according to police. Jewish organizations across Canada, including Bayneye Brith and the Friends of Simon Weasant Doll Center, praised the ruling after submitting impact. They stressed his extremism, threatened everyone outside his twisted views, not just Jews.

1:02His work connected to at least six global attacks, from a mosque stabbing in Turkey to a shooting against LGBTQ people in Slovakia. His lawyer pushed for 12 to 14 years, pointing to remorse, a tough childhood, and mental health struggles. But the judge worried his online poison would linger forever, inspiring more violence, and saw a real chance he'd reoffend with those supremacists. He is still in play. Public prosecutors called the sentence a strong message against using the internet to spark real-world terror. It shows Canada's firm stand against hate that divides and destroys communities.