Incel charges in Toronto massage parlour killing marks new milestone in terrorist prosecution in Canada – By Joseph Brean (National Post) / May 19 2020
Terrorist prosecution, which largely began after 9/11 with a new set of criminal laws, has never before been applied outside the context of Islamist extremism
The teenaged accused murderer who went on a stabbing rampage at a massage parlour in northwest Toronto in February was motivated by the terrorist ideology known as incel, or “involuntary celibate,” a woman-hating online subculture, police claim.
Two people were injured in the machete attack, found by police outside the building in the early afternoon, and one woman was found murdered inside, Ashley Noell Arzaga, 24, who was the mother of a five-year-old girl.
Arzaga’s alleged killer, who was aged 17 at the time of the killing in late February, cannot be identified under provisions of the Youth Criminal Justice Act. He was arrested at the scene, and remains in custody.
He appeared in court on Tuesday to hear the charges upgraded from first degree murder and attempted murder to the same charges, but with terrorist inspiration.
The significance to the accused young person is comparatively minor, as he already faced the most serious charge in the Criminal Code. For Canada, however, the news is a milestone in terrorist prosecution, which largely began after 9/11 with a new set of criminal laws, but has never before been applied outside the context of Islamist extremism, even when strong candidates arose. Alexandre Bissonnette, for example, was never charged with terrorism for his murderous shooting rampage at a mosque in Quebec in 2017.
Continue to article: https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/terror-charges-laid-in-toronto-massage-parlour-stabbing-that-left-one-dead
