By Joseph Marshall
A Quebec man convicted of wilfully promoting hatred against Jews is back before the courts, trying to overturn both his guilty verdict and the 15-month jail sentence handed to him for online neo-Nazi propaganda.
Gabriel Sohier-Chaput, a Montreal-area man who wrote under the pseudonym “Zeiger,” is scheduled to have his case heard today at the Quebec Court of Appeal in Montreal. He was found guilty in January 2023 of wilfully promoting hatred against Jews in connection with a 2017 article published on The Daily Stormer, an American neo-Nazi website named after the Nazi propaganda newspaper Der Stürmer.
The article at the centre of the case called for “non-stop Nazism” and was found by Quebec Court Judge Manlio Del Negro to have actively promoted hatred against Jews. During the trial, Sohier-Chaput admitted writing part of the article but claimed the material was ironic, exaggerated and meant to provoke. The judge rejected that argument, finding that the article promoted Nazism and encouraged readers to view Jews as enemies.
Sohier-Chaput was sentenced in September 2023 to 15 months in jail followed by three years of probation. The sentence was significantly higher than the three months jointly recommended by the Crown and defence. Del Negro rejected that recommendation, saying it would trivialize the seriousness of the crime.
At sentencing, the judge described Sohier-Chaput as a “hate influencer” and said he remained a risk because he had not fully understood the seriousness of his actions or the harm he had caused. Jewish community representatives welcomed the sentence at the time, arguing that the case sent an important message that online anonymity does not shield those who spread hatred.
Sohier-Chaput was one of The Daily Stormer’s more prolific contributors. Evidence at trial showed he wrote hundreds of articles for the site. The court heard that the publication promoted Nazi ideology and targeted Jews through slurs, Holocaust trivialization and open calls for hatred.
The case also forced the court to deal directly with the connection between Nazism and the Holocaust. The defence argued that expert evidence was needed to establish that link. Del Negro ruled that the Nazi persecution and extermination of Jews during the Second World War was so notorious and uncontestable that it was not a matter for reasonable dispute.
Sohier-Chaput’s appeal challenges the conviction and sentence. Earlier appeal arguments reported in the case alleged that the trial judge made errors of law and fact and that there was an appearance of bias. The defence has sought either an acquittal or a new trial.
The appeal comes as Jewish communities across Canada continue to warn about the growth of online hate, particularly material that uses irony, memes and anonymous accounts to package anti-Jewish propaganda for wider consumption. The original trial judge made clear that hiding Nazi messaging behind claims of humour or provocation did not change the substance of the crime.
The Quebec Court of Appeal will now decide whether the conviction and sentence should stand.
