Ottawa youth guilty of terror charges
An Ontario Superior Court judge has found an Ottawa youth guilty of terrorism charges involving Islamic State-inspired plans to attack Jewish people — just hours after the young person invited a finding of guilt.
The development came in an Ontario court Wednesday before a trial for the young person and a co-accused was set to begin.
The youth, who cannot be legally identified due to his age, pleaded not guilty to four charges but admitted to a statement of facts and invited the court to find him guilty.
The unusual move preserves his right to appeal pretrial rulings on the admission of certain evidence in the case, as well as the guilty findings.
The agreed statement of key facts in the case says the youth was inspired by the Islamic State terror group and planned, along with others, to carry out a terrorist attack in Ottawa against Jewish people.
"The specific location and targets of his plans shifted over time, but his overarching intention was to murder as many Jewish persons as possible in the attack," the statement says.
The youth communicated online with an unidentified person with the username Klm, who instructed the young person to pursue a bombing attack, the statement adds.
Klm told the youth how to make pressure cooker bombs and the young person "expressed willingness and a strong desire to carry out the plan," the statement says.
It also says the youth took active steps to carry out the attack, which was to take place around Christmas 2023. He advised Klm that in addition to two other bombs, he would strap one bomb to himself to be used as a suicide bomb at the conclusion of his attack, the statement adds.
The statement indicates a police investigation began when the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation reported to the RCMP that a user of the Telegram messaging platform had encouraged a user in the United States to carry out an attack on Jewish persons.
According to the FBI, the user of the Telegram account was the young person in Ottawa.
In court on Wednesday, Justice Ian Carter declared the youth guilty of conspiracy to commit murder for the benefit of, at the direction of or in association with a terrorist group.
He was also found guilty of:
— facilitating terrorist activity by making available and exchanging instructional material and propaganda;
— instructing a person to carry out terrorist activity against Jewish persons; and
— facilitating terrorist activity by possessing explosive substances, specifically acetone, an oxidizer and metal ball bearings.
Neither the young person nor his co-accused, who still faces trial, can be named due to provisions of the Youth Criminal Justice Act.
A sentencing hearing for the youth is to take place after the trial for his co-accused is complete.
The youth found guilty was arrested in December 2023. At the time, the RCMP recognized the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, the Ottawa police, the Ontario Provincial Police anti-terrorism section and others for their help.
The second young person was arrested in February 2024.
He is charged with conspiracy to commit murder through involvement with a terrorist group, as well as facilitating terrorist activity by making available instructional material and propaganda and by seeking to acquire a prohibited firearm.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 22, 2026.
By Jim Bronskill | Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.