Windsor man gets jail, not prison, for participation in terrorist organization

Windsor’s Seth Bertrand was sentenced on Wednesday for participation with a terrorist group. CTV Windsor’s Michelle Maluske explains.

A Windsor man has escaped a prison sentence and will instead serve time in jail for a terrorism conviction last summer.

On Wednesday, Seth Bertrand, 23, was sentenced by Justice Maria Carroccia to nine months in jail to be followed by three years probation, as opposed to a three-year prison term as requested by the Crown, where he would have been exposed to “a great many negative influences” according to the judge.

“Terrorism offences are serious offences that violate the values that we hold sacred as members of Canadian society,” Carroccia said. “By their nature, terrorist activities are calculated to instill fear.”

The sentencing played out in a city courtroom following Bertrand’s conviction in August 2025 of the single charge laid against him for applying to join the Atomwaffen Division.

Although Bertrand never took any action for the terrorist group, agreeing with their hateful rhetoric and offering his skills in support of those beliefs was enough, the judge said, to convict him.

Carroccia gave Bertrand credit for being a youthful, first-time offender at the time of his application, while noting he has already started counselling, has renounced his previous beliefs, and has a supportive family; however, the fact he was motivated by hate and lacked insight into the effect of his actions, led the justice to believe a jail term was necessary.

“Seth Bertrand, in many ways, was an ideal candidate for indoctrination into an ideologically-motivated violent extremist group. He had a childhood that lacked structure; he was bullied, socially isolated, and angry. He was looking to belong and connect with others. He was vulnerable,” the judge said.

“Those personal circumstances, however, do not absolve him of responsibility for his actions.”

Xenia Proestos, the federal prosecutor in the case, believes the sentence sends a message to the broader community.

“All terrorism offenses are serious. They strike at fundamental Canadian core values and I think this was an important case, and an important decision,” said Proestos.

“He did some of the stupidest things on earth, and quite frankly, he’s lucky he was caught because if he wasn’t, who knows what else he would have done,” Bobby Russon, Bertrand’s defence lawyer, said Wednesday.

Russon wanted to keep his client out of custody on a suspended sentence to be served at home under strict conditions.

A jail sentence doesn’t come as a surprise, he said.

“There are very few people who held these views at 18 [years old], but there are a lot of people who held views at 18 that they don’t hold at 19 or 20 or 21 or 22,” said Russon. “His were more extreme.”

When Bertrand gets out of jail in nine months, less eight-day pre-sentence custody, he will be on probation for three years.

Among those conditions is a requirement he complete counselling with a therapist who specializes in rehabilitating people with extremist views.

Bertrand’s internet access will also be monitored by a probation officer and he cannot access or possess any hate-filled documents like manifestos.

“In terms of changing, I truly, genuinely believe he has changed,” Russon said.

“I truly, genuinely believe he isn’t that person anymore.”

“This case affirms that offences motivated by hatred and extremist ideology have no place in Canadian society,” George Dolha, Director of Public Prosecutions Service of Canada, wrote in a news release.

“Terrorism rooted in white supremacist ideology is not an abstract threat. It is a deliberate strategy aimed at normalizing hatred-infused violence.”