Triple stabbing at University of Waterloo was a terrorist act, Crown argues in court

'Ideology' debated in UW attacker terrorism charge What role does ideology play in the sentencing of the man who pled guilty to four charges in an attack at the University of Waterloo?

Federal prosecutors want the 2023 triple stabbing at the University of Waterloo treated as a terrorist act.

They argued their case to the court on Tuesday at Geovanny Villalba-Aleman’s ongoing sentencing hearing.

Federal prosecutors explained that Villalba-Aleman was ideologically-motivated when he entered a gender studies classroom and attacked the professor and two of her students. At the time, he was a 24-year-old international student who had recently graduated from the University of Waterloo.

Villalba-Aleman has since pled guilty to two counts of aggravated assault, one count of assault with a weapon and one count of assault causing bodily harm.

Terrorism charge explained

According to the Canadian Criminal Code, terrorism is an action:

The Crown said Villalba-Aleman didn’t have a “tidy” ideology that easily fit in one category but, instead, espoused a number of extreme right-wing views.

In a manifesto he posted to Discord before the June 2023 attack at UW, Villalba-Aleman wrote that he would “teach those Marxist brainwashers.”

During an interview with police immediately after the stabbings, he stated he was “doing it on behalf of normal people.” The attack, he added, was meant to be a “wake-up call.”

The Crown also argued Villalba-Aleman made a clear decision to target the classroom based on anti-trans and anti-“woke” ideology.

“His intention was clearly to intimidate a segment of the population,” said Howard Piafsky, with Public Prosecution Services of Canada.

“It wasn’t done to avenge a private matter, but to achieve a broader agenda – to silence public discourse,” added Althea Francis, also with Public Prosecution Services of Canada. “This act harms Canada as a whole. The ideological element makes it more heinous.”

A judge will now have to decide if Villalba-Aleman’s attack was hate-motivated and constitutes a terrorist act. The maximum sentence is life in prison, but the Crown is requesting 16 years for Villalba-Aleman.

What’s next

On Monday, the professor who was injured in the attack shared her victim impact statement in person. The two student victims also submitted their written statements.

Court will hear from Villalba-Aleman’s lawyers this week. They’re expected to argue the attack was not an act of terrorism.

Villalba-Aleman’s forensic psychology report will also be considered before the judge hands down the sentence.