Trial hears of devotion to ‘incel’ subculture
TORONTO, Ont. — The murder trial of Alek Minassian for killing 10 people and injuring 16 others in what’s become known as the Toronto van attack heard details of his misogynist motivation, Thursday morning.
Court was told of the “incel” subculture and the bizarre worldview of the “involuntarily celibate” that attracted and radicalized Minassian, 28, before he rented a van and drove it down a busy Yonge Street sidewalk on April 23, 2018.
The trial is being held entirely online over video teleconferencing software, due to COVID-19 restrictions. The judge and lawyers all remain at their homes or offices. Minassian is linked in from the Toronto South detention centre.
Minassian admits he killed and injured the pedestrians that day in a van he rented for that purpose, but pleaded not guilty, claiming he is not criminally responsible by reason of his mental state.
Crown prosecutor Joseph Callaghan presented an agreed statement of facts on the incel elements of this case, meaning the government and Minassian’s defence lawyers confirmed its accuracy.
Minassian was influenced by incel ideology and by two men, idolized by incels, who committed their own murder sprees: Elliot Rodger, who killed six people in California in 2014, and Chris HarperMercer, who killed nine people in Oregon in 2015.
Minassian claimed he was in contact with both men online prior to their attacks, but an examination of his computers neither supported nor debunked his claim.
Incels are those who declare that they cannot attract sexual interest or contact. Primarily heterosexual males, incel online forums see users develop a worldview of a society divided by those who are sexually successful and those who are not.
Minassian’s computers showed he searched for information on past incel killers, the court heard. Both Rodger and Harper-Mercer killed themselves after their attacks.
“The posthumous influence of Elliot Rodger stems from a series of YouTube videos and a 137-page manifesto,” which outline his motivation for his attacks, court was told. In them, Roger complains that he is seeking revenge on the world because despite being a “supreme gentleman” he is “still a virgin.”
Harper-Mercer also left a manifesto after his shooting spree at a community college, declaring his interest in Rodger’s case and anger at not having a girlfriend.
Police seized and searched 29 electronic devices from Minassian’s home, where he lived with his mother, father and only sibling, a brother.
There were 41 examples of school assignments or classwork, authored by Minassian, found on his devices, including a video. They were provided to psychiatrists and psychologists involved in examining Minassian for assessments of his mental state for trial.
The files have titles such as “Should Cheaters Prospers,” “Right Thing To Do,” “Murder or Self Defence,” “parents spanking children,” “Being comfortable with being weird” and “High school – pretend to be afraid of girls.”
The video appears to be a post-high school class assignment, with two other men, to produce a mock television commercial for a new technical product they call “Glassphone,” a set of glasses that act as a wearable smartphone.
In the video, Minassian sits at a table wearing flashy sunglasses and is approached by another student, whose face was blurred prior to being shown in court, who asks Minassian what he is doing.
At one point, Minassian mimics the style and language of infomercials, saying: “Wait, there’s more.”
The Crown also made a motion seeking access to video and audio recordings of interviews with Minassian and his family, made by a team of doctors hired by his defence lawyer. They already have the doctors’ notes, but recently learned the interviews had been recorded.