Stay informed
Ottawa ISIS recruiter released after two-thirds of sentence despite continuing to hold extremist views
An Ottawa man convicted in an ISIS terrorism case is getting out of prison after serving two-thirds of his 17-year sentence, even though the parole board says he continues to hold extremist views and remains a public-safety risk.
The parole board says Ashton Larmond has made some progress through programming available to him in prison, as well as counselling. However, the board also noted in its decision shared with National Post, that the 35-year-old man committed an assault on another inmate in March. He punched another inmate in the face, then kneeled on him and struck him again, breaking his nose, which the board cited as evidence he remains comfortable using violence.
Most offenders, except those serving a life or indeterminate sentence, must be released with supervision after serving two thirds of their sentence, under what’s known as “statutory release.” The parole board can impose special conditions on statutory releases that it considers necessary to manage an offender’s risk in the community. The parole board has placed special conditions on Larmond, which must be followed throughout the rest of his sentence. That includes monitoring his phone use and finances. He must also take part in treatment and live in a community-based residential facility or psychiatric facility approved by the Correctional Service of Canada.
He is noted by the board to be within the category of male offenders likely to reoffend within three years.
According to the parole board decision, Larmond converted to Islam sometime between 2009 and 2011. He adopted “terrorist views” and proceeded to recruit “several people, including (his) twin brother (Carlos) and a police officer to join the terrorist group.”
When he was arrested, police found 267 videos with extremist propaganda on his computer hard drive.
While in prison, he committed several assaults against other inmates and uttered threats against prison staff, says the parole board. He was initially held in a provincial facility, but was transferred to a federal prison due to “radical ideologies.” While in the latter, there was concern that he may have been attempting to radicalize another prisoner, but that appears to have abated. His “accountability” rating improved over time from low to medium.
Police awareness of Larmond goes back to the summer of 2013, when the RCMP intercepted conversations between Larmond and another Ottawa man who had flown overseas and joined ISIS in December 2012. He told the man that he wanted to join him. According to RCMP documents, Larmond’s mother called the Ottawa police in September 2013 saying her son wanted to go kill for terrorists.
Police arrested Larmond on January 9, 2015, in the Ottawa area, while his twin brother Carlos was arrested at Montreal’s airport as he was trying to leave Canada for Syria. Ashton had been considering taking an overland route through Alaska, Russia, and Afghanistan to reach Syria.
They were arrested along with a third suspect following an RCMP undercover counterterrorism operation called Project Slipstream.
Ashton subsequently pleaded guilty to one count related to encouraging others to engage in terrorist violence. His brother Carlos pleaded guilty to one count of attempting to leave Canada to participate in the activities of a terrorist group and was sentenced to seven years in prison.
The parole board noted that Larmond plans to take employment training while working part-time in the food industry or at a hardware store, aiming to eventually become a contractor. He expressed an interest in volunteering and fundraising for organizations that “focus on people of the Muslim faith who are suffering.“
However, the parole board rates his “reintegration potential” as low.
Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark nationalpost.com and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here.
Comments
Be the first to comment