Canadians across the country mark Remembrance Day
Today Canadians will remember and honour the sacrifice of men and women in uniform who gave their lives in service of the country's values and principles.
A Neo-Nazi who helped lead a campaign to threaten journalists and Jewish activists in three states was sentenced Tuesday to seven years in federal prison -- the longest prison term handed out to the participants in the conspiracy.
A jury convicted Kaleb Cole in September of five felony counts related to the delivery of Swastika-laden posters to journalists and employees of the Anti-Defamation League in Washington state, Arizona and Florida in early 2020. The posters warned: "You have been visited by your local Nazis," "Your Actions have Consequences," and "We are Watching."
Seattle U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour handed down the sentence after hearing from victims who spoke of lingering fear and installing expensive home security systems in response to the threats. Miri Cypers, the regional director of the Anti-Defamation League, described picking up toys from her yard before fleeing to a hotel so that Cole and his followers would not know she had a daughter.
U.S. Attorney Nick Brown credited the victims for facing Cole in court: "Their courage has resulted in the federal prison sentence imposed today," he said.
The judge noted that Cole, 26, had tried to operate under the anonymity of the internet, and that when journalists, including Chris Ingalls of Seattle's KING-TV, exposed him, "He took great pains to silence them through threats and intimidation."
"To function as a democratic society, we need reliable and truthful journalism," Coughenour said.
Unlike others sentenced in the case, Cole expressed no remorse, which helped explain why his sentence was more than twice as long as that of the conspiracy's other leader, Cameron Shea. At his sentencing, Shea told the court, "I cannot put into words the guilt that I feel about this fear and pain that I caused."
Cole, most recently of Montgomery, Texas, was a leader of a hate group called Atomwaffen Division. He and four others faced charges including conspiracy, mailing threatening communications and interfering with a federally protected activity. The posters included images such as a hooded figure preparing to throw a Molotov cocktail at a house, and the words "Death to Pigs" -- the same message followers of Charles Manson scrawled in victims' blood during a home invasion murder.
Cole had been on law enforcement's radar since at least 2018, when he was stopped at U.S. Customs upon returning from a trip to Europe. Authorities searched his cellphone and found photos of him posing at various sites, including at the gates of Auschwitz, or displaying a white supremacist flag and performing the Nazi salute.
Investigators said he became a leader of Atomwaffen Division after another leader was arrested on explosives charges.
In 2019, Seattle police obtained an "extreme risk protection order" against him, seizing nine guns from his home. They said Cole had "gone from espousing hate to now taking active steps or preparation for an impending `race war."'
Those steps including organizing paramilitary-style "hate camps" in Nevada and Washington, investigators said.
After the weapons were seized, Cole moved to Texas, where he was found in a speeding car with another Atomwaffen member, marijuana and four guns, including three assault rifles.
Cole's grandmother, JoAnne Powell, pleaded with the judge for leniency Tuesday, insisting that her grandson was a good man who made some "poor decisions" and never meant to hurt anyone.
"I beg that you would not look at him with hatred for what his political views have been," she said. "Kaleb is not a violent or mean person."
Cole's attorney, Christopher Black, insisted that he was not really a leader of the conspiracy, and that the threat campaign was Shea's idea. He acknowledged that Cole made the posters and offered suggestions in carrying out the effort, but said others charged had done similar work.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Woods disagreed, saying Cole stood out from the other defendants for his lack of remorse. He decried racism and religious intolerance said it's "the great tragedy of this country, 250 years in, so many Americans have that feeling of unease."
"That was his identity, his life's work to this point: hate, targeting people to instill terror," Woods said. "And it worked."
The other two defendants were Johnny Roman Garza, of Queen Creek, Arizona, who was sentenced to 16 months for affixing one of the posters on the bedroom window of a Jewish journalist, and Taylor Parker-Dipeppe, of Spring Hill, Florida, who received no prison time for attempting to deliver a flier but leaving it at the wrong address. Parker-Dipeppe was severely abused by his father and stepfather and hid his transgender identity from his co-conspirators and the judge found that he had suffered enough.
Today Canadians will remember and honour the sacrifice of men and women in uniform who gave their lives in service of the country's values and principles.
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump says that Tom Homan, his former acting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement director, will serve as "border czar" in his incoming administration.
Researchers are uncovering deeper insights into how the human brain ages and what factors may be tied to healthier cognitive aging, including exercising, avoiding tobacco, speaking a second language or even playing a musical instrument.
Since the U.S. Supreme Court鈥檚 2022 Dobbs decision eliminated the federal right to abortion, miscarriage management has become trickier and in some cases, deadlier.
The union representing some 1,200 dockworkers at the Port of Montreal has overwhelmingly rejected a deal with their employers association.
It was the first time that Canadian UN peacekeeper Michelle Angela Hamelin said she came up against the raw emotion of a people so exasperated with their country's predicament.
Applause erupted over and over at the Canada Life Centre in Winnipeg Sunday as the son of Murray Sinclair, a former judge, senator and chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission into residential schools, spoke about his father.
A children's book written by British celebrity chef Jamie Oliver has been withdrawn from sale after it was criticized for causing offense to Indigenous Australians.
A man who was critically injured in a police-involved shooting in Hamilton late Sunday afternoon has died in hospital, says the province鈥檚 police watchdog.
A congestion crisis, a traffic nightmare, or unrelenting gridlock -- whatever you call it, most agree that Toronto has a congestion problem. To alleviate some of the gridlock, the Ontario government has announced it plans to remove bike lanes from three major roadways.
For the second year in a row, the 鈥楪ift-a-Family鈥 campaign is hoping to make the holidays happier for children and families in need throughout Barrie.
Some of the most prolific photographers behind CTV Skywatch Pics of the Day use the medium for fun, therapy, and connection.
A young family from Codroy Valley, N.L., is happy to be on land and resting with their newborn daughter, Miley, after an overwhelming, yet exciting experience at sea.
As Connor Nijsse prepared to remove some old drywall during his garage renovation, he feared the worst.
A group of women in Chester, N.S., has been busy on the weekends making quilts 鈥 not for themselves, but for those in need.
A Vancouver artist whose streetside singing led to a chance encounter with one of the world's biggest musicians is encouraging aspiring performers to try their hand at busking.
Ten-thousand hand-knit poppies were taken from the Sanctuary Arts Centre and displayed on the fence surrounding the Dartmouth Cenotaph on Monday.
A Vancouver man is saying goodbye to his nine-to-five and embarking on a road trip from the Canadian Arctic to Antarctica.