Man accused of inciting hatred toward women posted disturbing images, trial told

Article content

The trial of a man accused of inciting hatred toward women by posting disturbing images and articles in the days leading up to the commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the École Polytechnique massacre has begun at the Montreal courthouse.

Article content

Jean-Claude Rochefort, 73, of Montreal was arrested in 2019, weeks after he is alleged to have posted a series of disturbing comments about women, feminists and Marc Lépine — the man who carried out the massacre.

“(Women) all have the devil in them. We’re not saying here to kill everything that moves, we’re saying be ready,” Rochefort is alleged to have written in one of many items posted on two different blog platforms.

The investigation began after Francis Dupuis-Déri, ​​a professor who teaches feminist studies at Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM), received a Google alert early in September 2019, informing him that his name had been mentioned in something posted on one of the blog platforms.

Dupuis-Déri, ​​the first witness called to testify before Superior Court Justice Pierre Labrie, said that when he clicked on the link he learned that there were actually three articles, allegedly penned by Rochefort, that mentioned his name.

Article content

“He said that it was scandalous that I was teaching young people about anti-feminism,” Dupuis-Déri said. “I also mocked my appearance.”

What was most concerning, Dupuis-Déri said, was that the blogs were accompanied by several doctored photos of Marc Lépine holding firearms. On Dec. 6, 1989, Lépine murdered 14 women, and wounded 14 other people at the École Polytechnique de Montréal, an engineering school affiliated with the Université de Montréal. Lépine killed himself and police found a letter inside his jacket stating that he intended to kill feminists.

Dupuis-Déri said the items he found online left him worried and he contacted Melissa Blais, another UQAM professor mentioned in the articles, as well as UQAM’s security department.

Article content

Blais, who teaches a course on anti-feminism, testified after Dupuis-Déri and said she was also disturbed by what she read. She said Rochefort tried to create the impression he was surveilling her. For example, she said, Rochefort commented on her physical appearance de ella and wrote that he felt she was getting too skinny at a time when she felt she was actually gaining weight.

Blais was preparing UQAM’s participation for what would be 12 days of events at Quebec universities leading up to the commemoration. She said one photo montage, allegedly posted by Rochefort, that she found very disturbing showed an image of a woman on her knees next to a photo of Lépine. In the montage the woman asked Lepine to kill her.

Serge Vincelette, a technician who works for security at UQAM, testified that he filed a complaint with the Montreal police on Sept. 9, 2019.

Article content

“But (something posted) on Nov. 2, (2019), really changed the direction of the wind for me,” Vincelette said. “The threat toward our institution took another turn because the article was about how feminists had taken all the power at the university and, by memory, it encouraged the disciples of Marc Lépine to burn down ‘those evil places.’

“At that moment I called (the Montreal police detective in charge of the investigation) to say this was getting worse. The commemorations were coming up at the end of November and beginning of December. It was no longer a question of perception. I was reading threats toward universities.”

Vincelette said he also captured images of items posted on two different sites. They were posted by a person claiming to be Rick Flashman. One of the two sites was for people interested in issues related to INCELs, or young men who are unable to attract women.

Article content

In one post, Rochefort allegedly referred to Lépine as “Saint Marc Lépine.”

“On almost a daily basis, the photo montages were comprised of Marc Lépine in front of Polytechnique fully armed,” Vincelette said, before referring to one photo montage in particular. “In this case I could read on the photo montage: ‘Do us a favor Marc, kill all the bitches.’ ”

In another montage Rochefort allegedly wrote: “For serious school shootings you need the right tool.”

Another montage used an image of the same type of firearm Lépine used during the massacre and Rochefort allegedly wrote: “Okay girls, if that’s the way you see it, it seems to have no choice here. Preemptive strike, I’m afraid.”

The trial will resume on Tuesday.

[email protected]