Windsor man applied to terror group during class on school computer, court hears

The 21-year-old Windsor, Ont., man charged with a terrorism offence admitted to police he had applied to join a known terror organization on his school computer at the start of the pandemic, but says he never became involved with the group. 

This detail and others were revealed during the second day of Seth Bertrand's trial Wednesday at Windsor's Superior Court of Justice. 

Bertrand is facing a charge of participating in or contributing to — directly or indirectly — the activity of a terrorist group.

He has pleaded not guilty. 

His lawyer, Bobby Russon, told CBC News that he's not aware of another instance when someone has been charged for applying to join a terror group. 

The courtroom saw a video recording of an interview Bertrand did with RCMP Sgt. Shelly Schedewitz on the day he was arrested in May 2022. 

During the interview, Schedewitz tells Bertrand that she's not part of the investigation, but is there to help him understand his charge. Throughout the conversation, Bertrand reveals various details about himself, like that he works at a steel shop in Windsor and is trying to get his life together. 

Accused tried to join Canadian military

He says he was a cadet and has an interest in the military, adding that he's applied before but failed the aptitude test.

Bertrand says he became a Neo-Nazi after becoming depressed because of a bad breakup. 

"That was me for a while. It was f--ked. A very dark patch in my life that I do not like," Bertrand is heard saying in the video recording. 

He says he applied to, but was never involved with, Atomwaffen Division — which became a listed terror group by the federal government in February 2021. 

According to the RCMP, Bertrand had applied to the group just a few weeks after it became listed as a terror group. 

Bertrand says he applied to Atomwaffen Division during an online class using a school computer and account. He says someone contacted him via email, wanting to know who he is and his expertise. 

In a court filing, Bertrand's answers to the application questions were revealed. When asked why he wants to join the group, Bertrand wrote "your professionalism and your propaganda quality." He quotes Adolf Hitler in one response and says if he gets accepted he will "promise all my loyalty to you." 

In the recorded interview with the RCMP officer, Bertrand admitted that he tried to get involved with the group, "but lost contact with them." He added that he never operated under the group. 

Accused says far-right groups tried to brainwash him

"I'm not a terrorist. I don't want to kill nobody," Bertrand said. 

"I don't want to f--king do all that anymore. Haven't wanted to be a part of that for a long time. I just want to get my sh-t in order."

He mentions briefly joining different far-right subgroups and that he got involved with people who he thought were "healing" him, but "were just brainwashing me." 

He adds that he regrets everything he did back then, noting that "every day it haunts me at night." 

"I just want to get out of this. I don't want to be involved with this anymore," he said. 

Bertrand repeatedly mentions that he's trying to get his life back in order and put all of this behind him. 

The judge must now decide whether the evidence she's been presented with will be considered in her verdict. Bertrand's lawyer is trying to get his statements made in the video recording excluded, as they believe his rights to counsel were violated. 

Bertrand previously pleaded guilty in 2022 to hate-motivated crimes against Windsor's 2SLGBTQ+ community. These incidents, which happened between February and May 2021, are what RCMP say caused them to investigate Bertrand further and find out that he filed an application with Atomwaffen Division. 

The trial has been adjourned until Nov. 18.