(Montreal) Canadian Nathaniel Veltman, described as a white supremacist, was found guilty of murder on Thursday for deliberately driving his van into a Muslim family in June 2021 near Toronto.
After ten weeks of trial, a jury found the man, now 22, guilty of four murders and one attempted murder in this historic trial concerning one of Canada’s deadliest Islamophobic attacks.
Nathaniel Veltman pleaded not guilty at the opening of his trial in early September, arguing that he was in a “daze” that day.
On June 6, 2021, he mowed down five members of the Afzaal family in London, in the province of Ontario, killing both parents, a 15-year-old daughter and the grandmother. Only the nine-year-old boy, who was seriously injured, survived.
This is the first time in a trial in Canada that the accusation of terrorism is mentioned to talk about a man who is a follower of theories of white supremacy.
However, the jury – which took less than six hours to deliberate – did not mention this notion of terrorism when rendering its verdict.
During the trial, the prosecutor explained that Nathaniel Veltman, a believer in white supremacist theories, wanted to kill Muslims to spread fear among this community in the country.
He recalled that Mr. Veltman had written a “terrorist manifesto,” found on his computer, in which he advocated white nationalism and described his hatred of Muslims.
“Nathaniel Veltman had a message for Muslims. This message was strong, this message was brutal and this message was terrifying: ‘Leave this country or you and your loved ones could be next,’” prosecutor Fraser Ball said as he concluded a historic trial.
The accused had also “dressed like a soldier”, with a bulletproof vest and a helmet. “He was looking for Muslims to kill,” he concluded.
Shortly after his arrest, Nathaniel Veltman told police: “I was the one who hit them… I did it on purpose,” according to the indictment.
“Send a strong message”
The latter, who had no previous criminal record and no known affiliation with an extremist organization, explained that it was a political gesture, because he wanted to “send a strong message” against immigration.
But the defense lawyer contested the notion of premeditation: “When he left his apartment on the evening of June 6, he had no plan,” argued Christopher Hicks.
He also insisted on the mental disorders of the accused, who had also consumed hallucinogenic mushrooms.
“Mr. Veltman is an example of how hateful words can lead to radicalization, which can lead to deadly violence,” Omar Alghabra, a Canadian MP and former minister in Justin Trudeau’s government, commented on X.
“We are relieved that justice has been served,” responded the National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM).
“The attack that occurred more than two years ago changed the relationship of Canadian Muslims with their country,” said Omar Khamissa of the NCCM, inviting reflection on “the Islamophobic violence that has seized our country “.
In 2021, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau quickly denounced “a terrorist attack motivated by hatred”, promising in particular to strengthen the fight against extremist groups.
This killing constituted one of the deadliest attacks against Muslims in Canada with the shooting at the Quebec mosque, which left six dead in 2017. The author of the shooting, a Canadian supremacist, had not been charged with an act of terrorism.