The ex-leader of the far-right group Atalante, Raphaël Lévesque, got away with a conditional discharge for breaking into the offices of the Montreal media VICE Quebec in 2018 – and without a criminal record for this offense.
Judge Joëlle Roy of the Court of Quebec announced Friday morning the sentence imposed on the man, who had made a mess at VICE Quebec to give a bogus prize to a journalist. She dismissed the Crown’s request for a prison sentence to be served in the community, that is, at home.
Thus, Raphaël Lévesque will be subject to 18 months probation, will have to pay $400 to an employee of VICE Quebec who had been upset by the events, and donate $1,000 to the organization Avocats sans frontières (ASF).
According to the magistrate, the sentence is adequate so as not to harm the rehabilitation of the man, who now works as a truck driver and who is a new father.
He left “field activism”, his priority now being his family, writes the judge. “The accused feels remorse and regret for the commission of the offence. […] If he had to do it again, he would send a sung telegram instead of this intrusion into the premises of the media. »
This sentence is not contrary to the public interest either, she judges. On the contrary, “the public interest wants a father to continue to be an asset for our society by continuing his work. “For the magistrate, it is a prison sentence at home which would be disproportionate in the circumstances of the case. And then, if he violates the conditions of his probation, he could lose the benefit of the discharge. If he respects them, this offense will not appear on his criminal record.
Initially acquitted for his actions, the man was then convicted in 2022 by the Court of Appeal on one count.
Came with flowers
On May 23, 2018, Raphaël Lévesque, armed with a bouquet of flowers, showed up alone at the gates of VICE Quebec.
Seeing this friendly-looking visitor, an employee unlocks the front door electronically. Six or seven of his acolytes, hitherto hidden, then burst into the premises of the media.
Except for Raphaël Lévesque, who wears sunglasses, all the others wear masks and a sweater bearing the image of the Atalante movement, which described itself as a revolutionary, nationalist and independentist group, is it summarized in the judgment of the Court call.
Set to music from the American game show The Price is Right, they throw clown noses and leaflets in the premises, under the dumbfounded eyes of the employees. Some testified at trial that they felt threatened.
Then, Lévesque presents journalist Simon Coutu with a satirical trophy — for an article he wrote about the group a few days earlier — on which it is written “Média Poubelle 2018” and says to him: “A big thank you from the victims of the war that you are trying to leave”. The whole thing lasted 75 seconds, without violent words or gestures, it is reported in the judgment on the sentence.
Accused of four offences, including criminal harassment, he was acquitted in 2020 by judge Joëlle Roy down the line. Unsatisfied with the outcome, the Crown appealed the verdicts on two counts.
Last year, the Court of Appeal corrected the situation and condemned the man on a single count, namely breaking and entering. The case was sent to the Court of Quebec for the pronouncement of the sentence and it arrived in the hands of the same magistrate who had presided over the trial.