TORONTO - The Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center (FSWC) says it is pleased with Thursday's decision by a Court of King's Bench judge in Estevan to sentence Travis Patron, former leader of the now-defunct Canadian Nationalist Party, to one year in jail for wilfully promoting hatred against Jewish people.
The sentencing decision came two weeks after a jury found Patron guilty of hate speech against an identifiable group.
The FSWC pointed out that In an online video titled Beware the Parasitic Tribe, Patron claimed that Jewish people "infiltrate the media, they hijack the central bank, and they infect the body politic like a parasite," and "what we need to do...is remove these people, once and for all, from our country."
“The judge’s sentencing decision sends a clear message that promoting hatred against Jews has consequences in Canada, including imprisonment,” said Jaime Kirzner-Roberts, director of policy at FSWC. “While justice has been served, unfortunately, it took more than three years for a guilty verdict to be reached since the moment police were first notified of Travis Patron’s hatemongering in 2019, which is far too long.
"Patron is just one of many extremists who use online platforms to spread antisemitic tropes and conspiracy theories, and such hate is having a real impact on the Jewish community’s safety. As we see hate crimes in Canada increase year after year, the country’s government and justice system must make combating hatred, and bringing perpetrators of such crimes to justice, a priority.”
Due to time already served on the hate speech charge, he will spend 168 days in prison.
Patron, who hails from Redvers, has also been placed on a one-year probation order, which includes a ban on posting about Jewish people online.
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