Defence argues former Manitoba reservist didn't intend to cause terrorism
Defence lawyers for a former Canadian Armed Forces reservist from Manitoba argue he never intended to promote terrorism in the United States and should be sentenced to 33 months behind bars.
Patrik Mathews, 28, pleaded guilty earlier this year to four charges, including illegally transporting a firearm and obstruction of justice.
"Mathews vehemently rejects the accusation that he ever intended to promote a federal crime of terrorism," defence lawyers wrote in documents filed last week in Maryland District Court.
Prosecutors are seeking what's called a "terrorism enhancement" that would significantly increase his prison term. They are recommending Mathews be sentenced to 25 years.
Mathews has been in U.S. custody since he and two Americans were arrested by the FBI last year. It's alleged all three were members of the white supremacist group, The Base, and had been planning violence at a Virginia gun rights rally in 2020.
U.S. army veteran Brian Mark Lemley Jr. also pleaded guilty to weapons charges and is to be sentenced along with Mathews on Oct. 28. William Bilbrough IV was earlier sentenced to five years in prison for his role in bringing Mathews into the U.S.
Defence documents said Mathews, a former combat engineer from Beausejour, Man., was humiliated after 2019 media reports said he was a recruiter for The Base so he fled to the U.S., where he was picked up by Lemley and Bilbrough.
Prosecutors allege that once he was in the U.S., Mathews began building a functioning assault rifle, took part in military training exercises, screened new members for The Base and made numerous videos espousing violent, anti-Semitic and racist language.
In the documents, prosecutors said law enforcement gathered information about Mathews and his co-accused through a "sneak-and-peek" warrant, video surveillance and undercover agents. A large portion of recordings "involved violence in furtherance of white nationalism and the downfall of the American state," they said.
Prosecutors said Mathews and other members of The Base thought the "boogaloo movement," which white supremacists believe will be a violent uprising starting a civil war, would begin at the Virginia gun rally.
Defence lawyers argue the hate speech and references to violence in the secret recordings of Mathews and his co-accused are protected under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
"The conversations reflected the defendant's beliefs and advocacy of ideas that many would find repugnant," the defence documents said.
"Discussion of such ideas, especially within one's own home, do not establish the intent to commit crimes of terrorism."
The defence also said people who have been sentenced in relation to the attack on Capitol Hill earlier this year did not receive a terrorism enhancement.
Over punishing people can exacerbate existing political and social tensions, the lawyers said.
"(Mathews and his co-defendant) deserve a second chance to return to their families and resume their lives, as society continues to heal from the political tension and division that ensued during the Trump presidency," said the defence documents.
"The government's recommended sentence serves no purpose than to utterly destroy the defendants' lives."
Prosecutors said the First Amendment cannot save Mathews from his own words. In documents filed this week, they argue Mathews clearly had a plan.
He didn't cross over the border or build a rifle on a whim, they said.
"The defendants' beliefs and intentions -- their desire to subjugate and kill minorities, to violently establish a white nation, to demote women to a lesser class -- were the sole bases, or at least the primary bases, for committing their crimes of conviction, and are the reasons the defendants intended to promote federal crimes of terrorism."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 20, 2021.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
What's a Barnacle? It's yellow, sticks and screams if you try to pry it off your car
Barnacles, bright yellow devices used to make sure parking scofflaws pay their tickets, could soon be making their way to cities across Canada.
Verdun Airbnb listing taken down amid complaints, fines and frustration from neighbours
An Airbnb in Montreal's Verdun borough was the source of much frustration from neighbours who say there were constant parties at the location. It has been taken down from the app, but housing advocates remain upset about short-term rentals.
Man who set himself on fire outside Trump trial dies of injuries, police say
A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former U.S. President Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said.
They were from different countries and barely spoke each other's languages. More than 20 years later, they're still happily in love
He decided to spend Christmas somewhere that wouldn't involve snowstorm disasters. She was spending the holidays with family, travelling for the first time outside of her native country of Venezuela. 23 years later, they're still in love.
Young people 'tortured' if stolen vehicle operations fail, Montreal police tell MPs
One day after a Montreal police officer fired gunshots at a suspect in a stolen vehicle, senior officers were telling parliamentarians that organized crime groups are recruiting people as young as 15 in the city to steal cars so that they can be shipped overseas.
A Nigerian chess champion plays the royal game for 60 hours - a new global chess record
A Nigerian chess champion and child education advocate played chess nonstop for 60 hours in New York City's Times Square to break the Guinness World Record for the longest chess marathon.
Fire in Labrador town under control, officials tells residents to stay away
RCMP say the fire that prompted a state of emergency in a Labrador town is now under control.
12 students and teacher killed in Columbine school shooting remembered at 25th anniversary vigil
Thirteen victims of the Columbine High School shooting were remembered during a vigil Friday on the eve of the 25th anniversary of the shooting that was the worst the nation had seen at the time.
Israeli airstrike in southern Gaza city of Rafah kills at least 9 Palestinians, including 6 children
An Israeli airstrike on a house in Gaza's southernmost city killed at least nine people, six of them children, hospital authorities said Saturday, as Israel pursued its nearly seven-month offensive in the besieged Palestinian territory.