YouTube murder threats against Arabs: Quebecer granted bail

By Sidhartha Banerjee, The Canadian Press

MONTREAL – A Quebec man charged in connection with a YouTube video in which someone wearing a Joker mask said one Arab would be murdered in the province every week was granted bail Monday.

The Crown agreed to release Jesse Pelletier, 24, on strict conditions after being satisfied he wasn’t part of a larger group, his lawyer said.

Pelletier had been detained since last Wednesday on charges of uttering threats, possession of a false weapon, public incitement of hatred and hoax regarding terrorist activities.

“In the video, he had mentioned a lot of ‘we, we, we’ as in (Pelletier) being part of a group,” lawyer Audrey Amzalleg said. “There was nothing (to suggest) that he was part of any type of group.”

Pelletier had to pay a $3,500 deposit and must respect a curfew, reside at an undisclosed address, not use any devices with Internet capabilities and refrain from using social media and any video-sharing activity.

The person in the three-minute video was wearing a Joker mask and could be seen brandishing what looked like a pistol as he made the threats and spoke about the Nov. 13 terrorist attacks in Paris that left 130 people dead.

“So in the wake of the attacks in Paris, it’s really time to stop messing about and to intervene,” the voice said. “So I and a group of people will intervene. Beginning next week, there will be murders all over Quebec… We have decided to take things into our own hands and to eliminate one Arab a week.”

Amzalleg, who reiterated her comment from last week that the video was a “bad joke,” said her client was happy to be freed.

“It’s very premature in this file, but for now we’ll see what we can do to help him out in order to defend him properly with the accusations he has against him,” she said.

A judge agreed to seal the address where Pelletier will reside in order to protect his safety and that of his family, Amzalleg said.

The accused, who has a bone defect from birth and suffered an accident about a year ago, appeared in court again in a wheelchair.

Pelletier returns to court Jan. 18.

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