The former leader of the far-right group Atalante, sentenced for having entered with masked accomplices into the premises of the media VICE Quebec, wishes to benefit from an absolution to “progress” in his career as a truck driver. If he no longer does “field activism”, Raphaël Lévesque continues to help the “French-Canadians” white Catholics.
Acquitted in 2020 by judge Joëlle Roy, the 39-year-old man was finally found guilty of breaking and entering by the Quebec Court of Appeal last year. Three years later, the far-right activist finds himself again before Judge Roy for the imposition of his sentence.
The case caused a stir in May 2018. Accompanied by six masked accomplices from Atalante, Raphaël Lévesque entered the premises of the Montreal media VICE Quebec thanks to a subterfuge and presented a “humorous” trophy filled with cigarette butts to journalist Simon Coutu who wrote about their organization. The intruders had music playing and thrown leaflets and clown noses.
The far-right activist repeated on Friday that he would no longer do “field activism” and no longer be a member of Atalante. However, he acknowledges having participated in the last year in three distributions of food intended for “French Canadians” with associates of Atalante. A photo posted on Atalante’s Telegram account — which has 400 members — shows Lévesque and a dozen masked activists last May.
PHOTO SUBMITTED IN EVIDENCE
Activists from the Atalante group gathered in May 2022 for a food distribution. Raphaël Lévesque is the masked man in the center with a white sweater.
Questioned by Crown Prosecutor Me Geneviève Boutet on her definition of “French-Canadians”, Raphaël Lévesque joked about “white bastards”, pushing Judge Roy to intervene. “Me, Monsieur’s ideas don’t interest me,” she said.
In a monologue of several minutes, the judge claimed to have “had the impression of attending this morning to a morality against another”. The magistrate then returned to the course of the trial in 2020. According to her, there had then been “violence between two groups”.
At trial, the judge very harshly criticized the prosecutor for having been “aggressive” and “aggressive” towards her by pleading the resemblance of the Atalanta logo with the sign of the SS of the Nazi regime.
“At the time, I advised the prosecutor not to go into areas, because the room was crowded with journalists, people of different political or cultural ideas. It was unnecessary, in the sense that it may just create problems. It’s just to avoid a kind of escalation that is useless, ”said Judge Roy.
The judge insisted that Raphaël Lévesque had not committed a hate crime, but had only given a trash trophy to a journalist. Her crime had “no political ideation”, she said.
In addition, Judge Roy refused to ask the prosecutor to ask the accused to reveal the name of his employer, judging a non-publication order insufficient to protect him. “I’ve seen it, people who call the employer and make the person lose the job. Monsieur is a father of a family, “justified the judge.
“It’s not very chivalrous”
Without expressing real remorse, Raphaël Lévesque said he was “sorry” for having “frightened” a VICE journalist shaken by the events. “It’s not very chivalrous,” he admitted.
He says he never intended to intimidate or prevent a journalist from writing. “Freedom of the press is important to me,” he testified. This is why he undertakes to donate $1,000 to Reporters Without Borders.
A trucker for five years, Raphaël Lévesque maintains that he works 70 hours a week, sleeps in his truck during the week and goes to mass on Sundays. This would make it difficult for him to do a lot of extra work.
“There is a maximum number of strenuous hours a man can do to keep his sanity,” he explained.
The defense is asking for a conditional discharge and the imposition of 50 to 75 hours of community service (TC), while the Crown is asking for a suspended sentence and 150 hours of TC. Note that Raphaël Lévesque already has a criminal record for drug trafficking. A suspended sentence would thus postpone his eligibility for a pardon for several years.
According to the defense, Raphaël Lévesque may never get a better job if he does not obtain a discharge. In the trucking industry, a break and enter conviction is akin to being a “thief,” according to the accused.
The defense believes that the crime committed by Raphaël Lévesque is only a “technical offense”. Me Mathieu Corbo thus summarized the event as a simple delivery of a “humorous prize” of one minute fifteen. “In the gravity scale, it’s not even on the first rung of the ladder,” he pleaded.
Me Corbo also pointed to the “painful” legal process for his client.
Judge Roy will render judgment in the coming weeks.