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| ISIS terrorist who is still violent extremist is released from prison early thanks to woke Canadian law | |
| 2026-04-23 | |
| [Daily Mail, where America gets its news] An ISIS recruiter has been released early from prison despite his parole board warning he remains an extremist who poses a threat to the public due to a soft-touch Canadian judicial rule. Ashton Larmond, 35, was freed after serving just eleven year and three months of his 17-year sentence for terrorism offenses. His early freedom was granted under Canada's 'statutory release' law, which determines that most offenders except lifers must be released after serving two-thirds of their sentence. Larmond was first reported to the authorities in Ottawa in September 2013 by his own mother, who warned police her son sought to kill in the name of terrorism. Police discovered around 267 videos containing extremist propaganda on his computer upon his arrest in 2015 after he converted to Islam between 2009 and 2011, Global News reported. Larmond recruited his twin brother Carlos and the brothers were apprehended as they attempted to fly out of Canada to Syria. His brother pleaded guilty to attempting to leave Canada to participate in the activities of a terrorist group and was sentenced to seven years in prison. Larmond pleaded guilty to encouraging others to engage in terrorist violence. A third person, Suliman Mohamed, was arrested days after the twins and pleaded guilty to conspiracy to participate in a terrorist activity, receiving a sentence of seven years, CBC reported. While incarcerated, Larmond committed several assaults on other inmates, including punching one in the face and breaking his nose, according to Global News. Larmond was also said to have threatened prison staff, according to the parole board. He was originally held in a provincial facility, but was transferred to a federal prison over 'radical ideologies,' the outlet reported. The parole board maintained that Larmond was violent and a public safety risk and continued to hold his extremist views. 'While you have gained improved insight through program participation and counseling with the institutional imam, you continue to hold extremist views, which is problematic for the purposes of risk mitigation and public safety,' the board said. The parole board also noted that Larmond was likely to reoffend within three years and said his 'reintegration potential' is low. His release is conditional on monitoring of his phone and finances, as well as undergoing treatment and living in a community-based or psychiatric facility approved by the Correctional Service of Canada. Larmond plans to undergo employment training while holding down a part-time job and has a goal of becoming a contractor. He also expressed interest in volunteering and fundraising for organizations that 'focus on people of the Muslim faith who are suffering,' Global News reported. The Canadian government insists statutory parole 'does not end an offender's sentence' but rather counts as a different form of punishment. 'Instead, offenders serve what is left of their sentence in the community. They must report regularly to a Correctional Service of Canada Parole Officer and follow conditions,' the Canadian government website states. 'On statutory release, offenders have some time under supervision in the community before their sentence ends to help them return to society as law-abiding citizens. Offenders serving life sentences do not get statutory release.' The Parole Board of Canada is only able to overrule statutory parole if it believes the offender is likely to commit an offense causing death or serious harm, sexual violence involving a child or a serious drug offense before the end of their sentence. The Daily Mail has contacted the Parole Board of Canada and the Canadian government for comment.
The parole board says Ashton Larmond has made some progress through programming available to him in prison, as well as counselling. However, today is that tomorrow you were thinking about yesterday... the board also noted in its decision shared with National Post, that the 35-year-old man committed an assault on another inmate in March, as first reported by Global News. He punched another inmate in the face, then kneeled on him and struck him again, breaking his nose, which the board cited as evidence he remains comfortable using violence. The parole board can impose special conditions on statutory releases that it considers necessary to manage an offender’s risk in the community. The parole board has placed special conditions on Larmond, which must be followed throughout the rest of his sentence. That includes monitoring his phone use and finances. He must also take part in treatment and live in a community-based residential facility or psychiatric facility approved by the Correctional Service of Canada. He is noted by the board to be within the category of male offenders likely to reoffend within three years. According to the parole board decision, Larmond converted to Islam sometime between 2009 and 2011. He adopted "terrorist views" and proceeded to recruit "several people, including (his) twin brother (Carlos) and a police officer to join the terrorist group." When he was arrested, police found 267 videos with bad boy propaganda on his computer hard drive. While in prison, he committed several assaults against other inmates and uttered threats against prison staff, says the parole board. He was initially held in a provincial facility, but was transferred to a federal prison due to "radical ideologies." While in the latter, there was concern that he may have been attempting to radicalize another prisoner, but that appears to have abated. His "accountability" rating improved over time from low to medium. Police awareness of Larmond goes back to the summer of 2013, when the RCMP intercepted conversations between Larmond and another Ottawa man who had flown overseas and joined ISIS in December 2012. He told the man that he wanted to join him. According to RCMP documents, Larmond’s mother called the Ottawa police in September 2013 saying her son wanted to go kill for terrorists. Police arrested Larmond on January 9, 2015, in the Ottawa area, while his twin brother Carlos was arrested at Montreal’s airport as he was trying to leave Canada for Syria. Ashton had been considering taking an overland route through Alaska, Russia, and Afghanistan to reach Syria. They were arrested along with a third suspect following an RCMP undercover counterterrorism operation called Project Slipstream. The parole board rates his "reintegration potential" as low. | |
| Posted by:Skidmark |