Montreal police have issued a warrant for the arrest of a Montreal man who’s alleged to be an influential neo-Nazi figure, following a complaint made by B’nai Brith Canada in the spring, which alleged he was promoting hate against an identifiable group.
An investigative report by the Montreal Gazette, which was published in May, presented evidence that the person using the online pseudonym Charles Zeiger was living in Montreal and had been actively proselytizing white supremacism.
Zeiger was described in the report as “the second-most prolific writer” on the Daily Stormer, an extreme right-wing website with a North America-wide following.
He is named in the warrant as Gabriel Sohier Chaput, 32, however, his whereabouts today are unknown to police.
The Gazette provided evidence linking Zeiger and Sohier Chaput, who it traced to an apartment in the Rosemont-La Petite Patrie borough. He was described as a former information technology consultant who had gone to a high school in Outremont.
The warrant lists one charge under the section of the Criminal Code that deals with the wilful promotion of hatred, which carries a maximum penalty of two years in jail.
B’nai Brith denounced the Daily Stormer as “the most infamous anti-Semitic and neo-Nazi rag in the United States.”
According to the Gazette, Zeiger has a long history of expressing vile opinions online about blacks, gay men, immigrants and Jews.
READ: INVESTIGATION REVEALS NEO-NAZI RECRUITING IN MONTREAL
“We appreciate that a warrant has been issued for this man’s arrest,” said Harvey Levine, Quebec regional director of B’nai Brith, in a Nov. 12 statement. “It’s important that when anti-Semitism or racism crosses the line into criminal activity, police take these matters seriously and lay charges.
“We commend Montreal’s hate crimes unit for taking this matter seriously.”
