A man who was found to be spreading hatred about Jewish people while he was investigated during an attempt to make firearms using a 3D printer received a five-year sentence at the Valleyfield courthouse on Wednesday.
Recommended Videos
Quebec Court Judge Sylvain Lepine agreed with a joint recommendation that Pascal Tribout, 38, of St-Joseph-du-Lac be sentenced to a four-year prison term for the firearms he tried to make and a one-year prison term, to be served consecutively, for fomenting hatred.
“We are very satisfied with the sentence. The firearms were not functional,” prosecutor Gabriel Lapierre told The Gazette while noting the case is the first in Canada to result in a conviction for someone using a 3D printer to make firearms.
Lapierre said the judge also issued an order that Tribout has to turn over a sample of his DNA and is not allowed to possess weapons for a period of 10 years.
According to a joint statement of facts presented in court, the investigation into Tribout began on Nov. 23, 2023 after the RCMP received information from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) alleging that Tribout was involved in “criminal activities related to firearms.”
On Feb. 15, 2024, the RCMP received a list of imports and exports coming and going at Tribout’s address, a condominium, and they noticed some items could be used to make firearms.
According to the joint statement of facts, the following day “officers from the Deux-Montagnes Regional Police Service responded to a burglary alarm call at the accused’s home in St-Joseph-du-Lac. The accused resides in a condominium. While there was no one on the premises, the patrol officers entered the home and found that all the windows were blocked by sheets or curtains, that the premises were strewn with debris and tools, that some rooms seemed to be used as a workshop, that a 3D printer located in the bedroom was in operation, that other 3D printers are accompanied by a massive tool chest, various tools and spools of wire to power these printers.”
“The accused (Pascal Tribout) arrived on the scene and met the patrol officers. He told them that he is an entrepreneur and that he makes modifications to paintball guns,” the statement said.
This information was passed on to the RCMP and as their investigation progressed they learned that Tribout “was active and participated in an antisemitic discussion forum called “GDL Chat 2.0” on the social networking platform Telegram.
“Between March 14, 2024, and April 2, 2024, 66 messages of an antisemitic, racist, anti-government and alarmist nature were attributed to (Tribout).”
During April 2024, the RCMP used an undercover agent to communicate with Tribout while he used the pseudonym “ss Thrice.”
Tribout and the undercover officer had conversations “about anti-government, conspiracy, antisemitic, anti-vaccine discourse and will end up about privately manufactured firearms by 3D printer, including the FGC-9.b. In the end, the accused transferred computer files necessary for the manufacture of the FGC-9 firearm by 3D printer.”
The joint statement of facts later clarifies that FGC-9 stands for “F–k Gun Control” and 9 mm, the calibre of the weapon.
Another section of the joint statement of facts deals with the comments Tribout posted. He wrote that “there are Jews to be crushed all around the world. He also mentions that rather than converting the Jews to Christianity, they should be converted to ashes.”
“The accused will also mention that the laws of our society are not legitimate because they are ‘Jewish.’ Legality is not the same as legitimacy. The accused mentioned that anyone who submitted to ‘Jewish’ laws was a traitor.
“The accused will also refer to firing squads. He will ultimately say on May 10th 2024: ‘White Power guy’s (sic). They don’t know what we’re doing if we don’t … what we’re doing. Hitler’s favourite tactic.
“The accused made these comments in a context of frustration with the government and more specifically in connection with its taxation system, while he was intoxicated by alcohol and/or drugs.”