A Montrealer who threatened Prime Ministers François Legault and Justin Trudeau, Minister Geneviève Guilbault and a judge could face a sentence of up to one year. These are “serious” charges, according to a judge, who was keen to debunk the myth that politicians are “able to take it”.
Posted at 5:00 a.m.
“These people were elected by the population, they have the right to exercise their function until the next elections. If you are not satisfied, vote against. But to attack someone behind your computer, that’s very easy, “insisted Judge Pierre Bélisle, last July, refusing to release Martin Huberdeau until the end of his trial. .
This affair, which went under the radar last summer, is proving to be topical, at a time when unprecedented security measures have been deployed since the start of the electoral campaign to protect party leaders. Last Thursday, on Twitter, the Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions (DPCP) also reminded the public that threats and intimidation against candidates could lead to criminal charges. Three real cases showed the consequences of such remarks.
There have been several incidents since the start of the election campaign and earlier. There is a proliferation of threats on social media. This is often done by Mr. and Mrs. Everybody.
Me Audrey Roy-Cloutier, spokesperson for the DPCP
1er last September, the Crown prosecutor Me Charles Doucet announced to the court that he intended to request a sentence of 9 to 12 months in detention for all the files involving Martin Huberdeau, if the latter was found guilty. This is a relatively severe sentence for threats.
Threatening emails
Martin Huberdeau faces five charges filed last June. The 43-year-old Montrealer is accused of having transmitted to a court clerk of the Quebec Court of Appeal, in June 2022, death threats against Judge Sophie Lavergne, of the Court of Quebec, the Minister of Security public, Geneviève Guilbault, the Premier of Quebec, François Legault, and the Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau.
It was a simple procedural request from a clerk of the Quebec Court of Appeal that angered Martin Huberdeau. The clerk had asked him to reduce the number of pages for his appeal procedure related to the confiscation of his vehicle. “My new truck was seized. He’s been in the pound for four years […] With the pandemic, it has not been easy. It’s not an excuse…”, explained Martin Huberdeau.
The accused then began to send about twenty spiteful emails to the clerk, according to the evidence presented at the bail hearing.
His remarks are “incoherent and disjointed”, but are also of a “threatening and intimidating nature” towards the victims, explained the prosecutor of the Crown Me Yasaman Jahanbakhsh.
The threats written by Martin Huberdeau, punctuated with countless insults, leave little room for interpretation. “I kill her. I would have liked to kill her so much in the name of Legault, it’s carrion there, ”he wrote, about judge Sophie Lavergne, who had heard his case at first instance. “Even if I win, that doesn’t mean I don’t want to kill her, the sacrament,” he adds in the email.
The threats against Minister Guilbault are extremely violent. Martin Huberdeau maintains in an email that he would “break his neck”. “He doesn’t have much left, until October. Worse in mortal danger afterwards. don’t give me permission to kill her […]. Like Hannibal, kill the whole family criss”, he curses.
Regarding Prime Minister François Legault, he writes: “I would have killed them all, from the first, Legault-porc, to the last”. He adds, among other things, in another email wanting to kill “Trudeau-Legault”, summed up the prosecution, still at the release investigation.
“Fate of life”
“I really regret what happened,” said Martin Huberdeau, who was representing himself during the hearing. Unemployed for 15 years and struggling with mental health issues, the accused has a well-filled criminal record. These are mostly thefts and non-compliance with court conditions.
Mental illness, it’s not your fault if you have this. You didn’t run after that. It is a fatality of life.
Judge Pierre Belisle
Another judge forced the accused to submit to a psychiatric evaluation last August. He was declared fit.
Since the defendant had no realistic exit plan, the judge decided to keep him detained throughout the legal process.
“That’s 20 emails. What is said is truly intimidating. You can’t say it’s on a whim. I have no choice with the evidence. Your detention is necessary for the protection of the public,” concluded the judge.
The case will be back in court this week.