Calgary man who searched 'killing of gay persons,' posted ISIS propaganda to TikTok, pleads to terror charge
CBC
A Calgary man who purported to be a member of ISIS appeared to be planning to kill gay people participating in local pride events earlier this year, a judge heard during a guilty plea to a terrorism charge Friday.
Zakarya Hussein, 20, admitted to facilitating terrorist activity during the plea which took place before Justice Harry Van Harten in the Alberta Court of Justice.
From March to June of this year, Hussein posted concerning videos, photos, messages and instructions on how to make explosive devices to various messaging and social media accounts like Telegram, TikTok and Snapchat, court heard.
When police searched Hussein's house in mid-June, investigators seized an ISIS flag, a notebook with handwritten, step-by-step instructions on how to make an improvised explosive device, according to an agreed statement of facts (ASF) read aloud by prosecutor Kent Brown.
In a June 1 post to Snapchat, Hussein wrote: "tomorrow my mission begins. It's pride month. I've been waiting."
He then referenced two different types of explosive devices, one of which matched what was described in the hand- written instructions seized from his bedroom.
Hussein's Google history included searches for "Gay pride month," "pride month Calgary," and "the killing of gay persons."
He also searched "suicide attacks."
Later that month, Hussein sent video to a group chat. The video showed men being thrown off buildings.
"The video contained extremist ideological interpretations that encouraged killing gay men," reads the ASF.
Investigators also determined Hussein searched articles related to Calgary residents who left the city to join ISIS as well as articles related to the court proceedings of a Calgarian who was sentenced on terrorism charges.
Hussein posted several ISIS videos to Snapchat of mass executions and beheadings.
On the same social media platform, Hussein had several conversations with users where he discussed being a member of ISIS or travelling to Iraq or Syria to engage in war.
At the end of the conversations, he'd state he was joking, according to the ASF.
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