A former Canadian reservist has been sentenced to house arrest after posting a video of him firing a shotgun at a photo of a member of parliament whom he accused of being a “communist agent” of China.
A British Columbia judge has sentenced Peter Lew to a 60-day conditional sentence and 16 months in prison after pleading guilty to threatening to cause death or bodily injury to Liberal MP Wilson Miao of Richmond Center. I was given a grace period.
Lieu, who served in the Canadian Armed Forces Reserve for five years, posted the video on Facebook in May 2023.
The video first showed a series of news articles accusing Liberal MPs of profiting from Chinese interference in the 2021 federal election at the expense of Conservative candidates, the newspaper said. District Court Judgment.
The video then shows Liu, wearing a mask and camouflage pants, holding a campaign pamphlet about the Miao ethnic group, who immigrated from Hong Kong as a child, and saying, “This is a communist agent.” “He’s going to get what’s coming to him,” he was seen saying. ” according to the decision.
Before raising a pump-action Mossberg 590 shotgun and firing at the pamphlet, Liu proclaimed the Arabic words “mashallah” (“will of God”) and “Allahu akbar” (“God is great”). The court heard that.
Liu’s high school friend saw the video on Facebook, recorded it, and reported it to the police. The RCMP’s National Security Enforcement Team launched an investigation and arrested Mr. Liu.
Several guns and ammunition seized
Liu was born in China and immigrated to Canada at a young age, the court said. Investigators searched the home and seized 11 unsecured rifles, along with thousands of rounds of ammunition and multiple magazines.
State Court Judge Diana Vandor wrote in her ruling that the main issue in sentencing was to “deter and condemn the anti-democratic and violent conduct at the heart of this case.”
Mr. Lieu, who has no criminal record, was awarded a certificate in June 2019 on behalf of the Government of Canada and the Canadian Armed Forces in recognition of his services to Canada.
He wrote a letter apologizing to Miao for the 2023 video, expressing “great shame and guilt” and saying his actions were “careless and dangerous, threatening not only his personal safety but the broader public.” could have jeopardized the safety of the public.”
“A threat to democracy itself”
The judge said Liu could be sentenced to up to 14 years in prison and that his actions in the video met the very definition of anti-democratic violence.
“He is threatening the lives of his fellow citizens, and that person is a politician,” the judge wrote. “It doesn’t matter what political party this victim belongs to. His actions amount to a direct and literal threat to democratically elected politicians. More generally, democracy itself It is a threat to
Liu’s lawyer argued that the Facebook video was not politically motivated and was only available for one day in a private group of about 30 people, after which it was automatically deleted.
According to the court, his lawyer described the video as “gross” and a “vulgar joke”, which the judge flatly rejected.
“Mr. Lieu accused Canadian politicians of being agents of communism, threatened to get what was coming to him from politicians, and before committing the crime, he repeated phrases commonly uttered by Islamic extremists, After interrupting the threat, he shot the politician’s political pamphlet, an act of terrorism,” the judge wrote.
“Mr. Liu’s words and actions are morally reprehensible and should shock the conscience of the community,” he added.
court orders weapons ban
Under the terms of his house arrest and probation, Liu is prohibited from observing a curfew and having contact with Miao people and their families. He cannot be within 200 meters of MPs and cannot possess a weapon or mask intended to hide his face while committing a crime.
“In this political system, the future of this country is decided at the ballot box, not at the barrel of a gun,” the judge admonished.
“He served in the Canadian Armed Forces and is being recognized for his contributions to this democracy, so he should know better.”
A federal investigation in May found that foreign interference by China did not affect the outcome of the 2021 general election, but that “a small number of ridings may have been affected, but we cannot say with certainty.” did.
of interim report It concluded that while foreign interference by the Chinese government and others did not undermine the integrity of the election, it may have eroded public trust in the electoral system.
According to the Department of Defense, Mr. Liu served as a private in the British Columbia Reserve from 2014 to May 2019.
