KITCHENER, Ont. — A defence lawyer for a man who stabbed three people in a University of Waterloo gender studies class last year is arguing that the Crown has not proven the crimes were motivated by bias, prejudice or hate.
Cooper Lord is arguing at Geovanny Villalba-Aleman's sentencing hearing that even though his client gave police his reasons for the attack, he didn't express hatred toward a specific group.
Villalba-Aleman has pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated assault, one count of assault with a weapon and one count of assault causing bodily harm in the June 2023 attack.
Federal prosecutors have argued the offences amount to terrorism in this case because they were motivated by ideology and meant to intimidate the public, while provincial prosecutors told the court Thursday that the crimes were hate-motivated.
The provincial Crown cited Villalba-Aleman's hateful remarks about feminists and members of the LGBTQ+ community in his manifesto among the aggravating factors the court must consider in the sentencing.
But the defence is arguing that Villalba-Aleman's motivation was his belief that "left-wing thinking" stifled his freedom of speech, and that the court should consider his statements to police a more accurate reflection of his thoughts than the words he wrote before the attack.
The defence is rejecting the notion that the attack was driven by ideology and also said the federal Crown has not proven beyond a reasonable doubt that terrorist activity took place in this case.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 25, 2024.
The Canadian Press
