A hateful comment in which a user says “pray” to relive a second Polytechnique killing published under a lawyer’s TikTok video forced the Laval police to open an investigation in order to find the Internet user in question.
For almost three years, Me Chanel Alepin produces mainly educational content on the TikTok page of the law firm Alepin Gauthier Avocats, where she is a partner. The one who presents herself as “your big lawyer sister” addresses subjects such as domestic violence, consent or cyberpedophilia.
Thursday morning, Me Alepin posted a short video in which she asked the question: “Women are considered too emotional at work, but who shouts when you disagree with their point?”
To which an anonymous user named “Poueblo” responded that women were all, without exception, “a lot of trouble.”
The lawyer then sent him a heart, writing “this will be okay”.
Poueblo went further by publishing a very violent comment, in reference to the mass feminicide that occurred at the École Polytechnique in 1989.
“Never, I pray for a remake of December 6,” wrote the anonymous user.
A first
Chanel Alepin immediately realized the magnitude and seriousness of what had just been written to her. Although she is used to receiving occasional derogatory comments, this was the first time she had encountered such disturbing comments.
“I fell out of my chair,” she said, in an interview with The newspaper. I couldn’t believe that someone would use a TikTok account to refer to such a tragic event in the history of Quebec and the history of women.
Remember that on December 6, 1989, the killer Marc Lépine burst into a Montreal school and opened fire on numerous people. The grim toll was 14 dead and 13 injured. The assassin, who said he was fighting feminism, mainly targeted women.
“It’s always possible to trace the authors”
On Friday, Laval police confirmed they were aware of the comment on M’s TikTok page.e Alepin and having opened a criminal investigation.
“Even if it’s done online, even if it’s an anonymous account, even if the person deletes their comment: it’s still possible to trace the authors,” says agent Stéphanie Beshara, police spokesperson. . It’s important to warn people that it can be criminal and that you can’t write just anything.”
For the moment, no arrests have been made, authorities confirm. As the account, now deleted, was rather anonymous, it is currently not possible to know who is behind it. Investigative techniques, in particular to trace the IP address, will be used to trace the individual.
Chanel Alepin has confidence in the justice system and is delighted to see that public incitement to hatred is taken seriously by the police.
“I hope this is a message to everyone that freedom of expression and derogatory comments stop where it becomes criminal,” concludes the lawyer, who intends to continue to inform the public on various notions of law on social networks.
With Mathieu Boulay.