A man initially facing 26 charges of mischief relating to posting antisemitic flyers across Ottawa in 2021 has been sentenced to 18 months house arrest followed by two years probation after pleading guilty to the willful promotion of hatred[…]
Koppe’s lawyer had previously asked for a conditional sentence, while members of the city’s Jewish community submitted a letter asking that he receive jail time[…]
In an agreed statement of facts, Koppe admitted to posting a large number of hateful flyers throughout Ottawa’s West End and the suburb of Barrhaven. Typically focusing on high pedestrian traffic areas like large department and grocery stores, posters affixed to lamp posts, mailboxes, trash bins, and more, blamed Jews for the African slave trade, the 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center, and invoked other antisemitic conspiracy theories

The court also heard how a search of Koppe’s home revealed a collection of Nazi memorabilia[…]
Koppe was 29-years-old when he was arrested on December 8, 2021. He had no criminal record except for a 2016 charge of driving under the influence of alcohol

According to statements from the defence, Koppe lost his job during the COVID-19 lockdowns and began spending long periods of time alone investigating conspiracy theories online

Statements by Koppe read in court claimed his beliefs “started with podcasts about conspiracy theories” during a period of intense despair and anxiety. Mired by feelings of mistrust towards the government, scientists, healthcare providers and media, this eventually led to the “Jewish conspiracy”

Since his arrest, Koppe has been engaged with a psychiatrist as well as the John Howard Society’s Project Reset

The court previously heard the opinion of Dr. Helen Ward, who testified that Koppe “no longer subscribes to any of the beliefs that were motivating him at the time of committing the offences”