In a historic legal decision, a North Bay man has been sentenced to nine months in jail after being found guilty of promoting hatred and denying the Holocaust through dozens of disturbing social media posts and videos promoting hate and violence against the Jewish community.
It marks the first-ever conviction in a Canadian court for Holocaust denial, according to Crown prosecutors.
The conviction was a result of a seven-month-long investigation into a hate crime by the North Bay Police Service’s Criminal Investigation Section.
Kenneth Paulin, 51, was sentenced to nine months in jail and two years of probation on Sept. 18 for the wilful promotion of hate against Jewish people and the wilful promotion of antisemitism by condoning, denying, or downplaying the Holocaust, according to a release from the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies (FSWC).
The organization shares lessons of the Holocaust, and advocates for human rights and battling antisemitism and hate.
Paulin was arrested and charged on Friday, June 20, following the investigation into his antisemitic online content.
“His posts vilified the Jewish community, promoted blood libels and conspiracy theories, incited hate and violence against Jews, and repeatedly mocked and denied the Holocaust,” says the release.
Paulin’s posts included claims that Jews are “demons,” “the greatest mass murderers in human history,” “to blame for every American who falls,” and responsible for “almost 100%” of the world’s problems.
He also expressed support for a “Worldwide ‘Jew Hunt'” and declared that “antisemitism is the only thing that can save the world,” among countless other hateful posts and videos.
Most disturbingly, he minimized and denied the Holocaust, including in a video he titled “Their victim card gets permanently denied as the hollow-cost-Hoax is exposed” and by sharing a post that read, “Six million didn’t happen, but it should’ve.”
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