If he evoked “non-stop Nazism” and the “tears of his enemies in the streets” in a neo-Nazi publication, it was only to make fun of “overly sensitive people on the far left”, Gabriel maintained on Tuesday. Sohier Chaput on trial for fomenting hatred against Jews.
Posted at 11:35 a.m.
Dressed in a black jacket and sporting small round glasses, the 35-year-old man who took the witness stand on Tuesday was within sight of the image of the far-right activist who took part in the rally of Charlottesville white supremacists in the summer of 2017.
Describing himself as a “nationalist”, Gabriel Sohier Chaput nevertheless trivialized certain anti-Semitic comments, in addition to ridiculing the testimony of an Auschwitz survivor. Essentially, the contentious post was ironic and in no way intended to foment hatred, he argued.
“The goal is to undermine political correctness by making extreme comments. It weakens political correctness, ”he explained to judge Manlio Del Negro, firmly denying having written the anti-Semitic insults at the heart of the charges.
Gabriel Sohier Chaput has been on trial since Monday at the Montreal courthouse for a text published in 2017 on the neo-Nazi site The Daily Stormer. Under the pseudonym Zeiger, the Quebecer was then a prolific author of this influential publication of the American far right which defended tooth and nail President Donald Trump. He made 800 to 1,000 posts on his site, he says. He was paid $14 per text. However, he only sent a “draft”.
Thus, if he admits having written in part the contentious article, Gabriel Sohier Chaput affirms that the editor of the website – the white supremacist Andrew Anglin – added several paragraphs, as well as the image showing a smiling SS commander predator opening a gas valve. “It’s a widespread image on the internet,” said Sohier Chaput.
To prove that he did not write certain passages, the accused explained that, for example, he would never have used the expression “Christ-Killers” to speak of the Jews as he is an atheist, whereas Andrew Anglin is a Christian.
In addition, Gabriel Sohier Chaput argues that an anti-Semitic slur used in the publication is “a bit in bad taste”. He also attributes it to editor Andrew Anglin. In this passage, the author writes that the “ancestral tradition” of insulting Jews in the street should “certainly” be back.
“My style is more flowery, more colorful, with more sci-fi and fantasy references, while his style [à Andrew Anglin] was rawer. I make a lot of references to fantasy, to fairy tales, ”testified Gabriel Sohier Chaput. One phrase, for example, is inspired by The Lord of the Rings, he explained.
The defendant also mentioned “poetry” to justify the title of the article containing a term offensive to the Chinese. ” [Les deux mots] start with the same letters. In poetry, it’s a literary effect that makes it punchy, ”he explained in court.
His cross-examination continues on Tuesday.