'Racist, Anti-Government and Alarmist Posts'

"Officers from the Deux-Montagnes Regional Police Service responded to a burglary alarm call at the accused's home in St-Joseph-du-Lac. The accused resides in a condominium.While there was no one on the premises, the patrol officers entered the home and found that all the windows were blocked by sheets or curtains, that the premises were strewn with debris and tools, that some rooms seemed to be used as a workshop, that a 3D printer located in the bedroom was in operation, that other 3D printers are accompanied by a massive tool chest, various tools and spools of wire to power these printers."

"The accused [Pascal Tribout] arrived on the scene and met the patrol officers. He told them that he is an entrepreneur and that he makes modifications to paintball guns."

"This information was passed on to the RCMP and as their investigation progressed they learned that Tribout] was active and participated in an antisemitic discussion forum called 'GDL Chat 2.0' on the social networking platform Telegram."

"Between March 14, 2024 and April 2, 2024, 66 messages of an antisemitic, racist, anti-government and alarmist nature were attributed to [Tribout]."

"[During April 2024, the RCMP used an undercover agent to communicate with Tribout while he used the pseudonym 'ss Thrice'."

Joint statement of facts

Pascal Tribout. Photo: LinkedIn via Montreal Gazette

On Wednesday at a Quebec courthouse, Quebec Court Judge Sylvain Lepine was in agreement with a joint recommendation for Pascal Tribout, aged 38, of St-Joseph-du-Lac, Quebec to be sentenced to a four-year prison term as penalty for the illegal firearms he attempted to produce by way of a 3D printer, along with a one-year prison term tacked on to be served consecutively for fomenting hatred. 

Prosecutor Gabriel Lapierre, noting the case to be the first such in Canada to result in a conviction for the use of a 3D printer to make firearms, stated that "We are very satisfied with the sentence. The firearms were not functional." The judge issued an order for Tribout to turn over a sample of his DNA. He is not permitted possession of weapons for a period of ten years. A joint statement of facts presented in court outlined the investigation that began on November 23, 2023 into Tribout's activities, resulted from the RCMP having received information from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) that the man was involved in "criminal activities related to firearms".

 

The RCMP released this photo of a 3D printer following the arrest of a man who allegedly made homemade guns. (Source: RCMP)

The RCMP received a list of imports and exports arriving and departing Tribout's address, noticing that some items could be made use of for the production of firearms.  "[Tribout and the undercover officer had conversations] about anti-government, conspiracy, antisemitic, anti-vaccine discourse and will end up about privately manufactured firearms by 3D printer, including the FGC-9.b. In the end, the accused transferred computer files necessary for the manufacture of the FGC-9 firearm by 3D printer", the joint statement of facts continued.

 

According to the joint statement of facts, FGC-9 is shorthand for "F--k Gun Control" along with the calibre of the weapon, which is where the 9mm comes in. Comments posted by Tribout included statements such as "there are Jews to be crushed all around the world". Mentioning as well that rather than converting the Jews to Christianity, they should be converted to 'ashes'.

"The accused will also refer to firing squads. He will ultimately say on May20, 2024: "White Power guy's (sic). They don't know what we're doing if we don't ... what we're doing. Hitler's favourite tactic."

"The accused made these comments in a context of frustration with the government and more specifically in connection with its taxation system, while he was intoxicated by alcohol and/or drugs." 

"The accused will also mention that the laws of our society are not legitimate because they are 'Jewish'. Legality is not the same as legitimacy. The accused mentioned that anyone who submitted to 'Jewish' laws was a traitor."

Pascal Tribout, 38, was sentenced to five years in prison for printing guns and spreading hate speech about Jews. CTV News

"Montreal is still home to some elderly [Holocaust] survivors and their descendants, who bear the scars of their parents and grandparents." 

"These scars, combined with the violence we now see on our streets and campuses, make it all the more necessary for the justice system, the community's last bastion of hope, to stand up and take action against these threats."

"We believe that the sentence handed down must be strictly exemplary and send a clear message to both the accused and any potential accomplices: these types of actions and behaviour will not be tolerated in our country."

Henry Topas, B'nai Brith's director general for Quebec