WARNING: This story contains details about threats of physical and sexual violence against women and minors.
A Burlington, Ont., man who pleaded guilty to uttering threats to two women says he feels “remorseful” for actions, which also included posting online about violence he wanted to commit.
DeAndre Anderson, 25, appeared at the continuation of his sentencing hearing this week. He was arrested and charged in April 2024 with two counts of uttering threats “in support of the incel ideology,” according to the RCMP.
The charges, which followed a joint investigation with the Halton Regional Police Service and the FBI, are alleged to constitute terrorist activity under the code, police said in a news release.
He pleaded guilty in November. The Crown prosecution presented its sentencing submissions at the end of August, requesting a five-year sentence. The defence had its turn on Tuesday.
“I regret everything that I said on the incel forum,” Anderson told the Milton Ontario Court of Justice.
“I don’t know what I was thinking.”
According to an agreed statement of facts between the Crown and the defence, Anderson used the online moniker MrUgly420 to post publicly on an incel website between December 2022 and April 2024.
Incel refers to “involuntary celibate,” a misogynistic subculture that commonly expresses their frustrations and blames women over their inability to find a romantic or sexual partner. CBC Hamilton is not naming the incel website where Anderson made his public posts.
He said in the posts that he wanted to shoot a former high school classmate in the head and that she had rejected him in the past, the Crown prosecutor told the court in a previous appearance. He also posted her picture online.
Following his arrest, police found a plan created by Anderson to kill his dentist and “a plan to stab/attack women randomly.”
The victims’ identities are protected under a publication ban.
The Crown said the two charges constitute terrorist activities under the Criminal Code.
A history of admiration for mass killers
Anderson was denied bail last summer in order to prevent him from acting out his fantasies and starting a massacre against a vulnerable segment of society. In particular, the threats he made were against his classmate and dentist.
According to the agreed statement of facts, he said in his online posts that he would like to run over a woman, and that he would kill a woman and have sexual relations with the body.
Anderson also made posts admiring mass killers like Payton Gendron, a white supremacist who killed 10 Black people in Buffalo, N.Y., and Elliot Rodger, who killed six college students in southern California.
Police also found a search history that disclosed his admiration of Alek Minassian, who killed 10 people using a van while driving down a Toronto sidewalk, and Nathaniel Veltman, who killed four members of a Muslim family and injured a fifth in a hate-motivated attack in London, Ont.
Anderson also expressed desires to run people over with a vehicle, to enter the U.S. to get a gun to perpetrate a mass casualty event and to assault minors.
A knife, a mattress with stab marks and a note where Anderson “directed himself to practice his stabbing technique” were also found in his possession, according to the agreed statement of facts.
In December 2023, according to the agreed facts, Halton regional police investigated Anderson following online posts expressing his desire to kill women, and “shoot up the Burlington Mall and a nightclub.” He wasn’t criminally charged then, but was taken for a mental health assessment.
Prosecutors asking for 5-year sentence
Anderson told the court on Tuesday that he’s had mental health issues since he was a teenager — including anxiety, depression, suicidal thoughts and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) — that were made worse by excessive drinking.
He said he is willing to stay on his medication and go to therapy.
“Every day I just I wake up and I regret what I have said, what I did to the victims,” said Anderson. “I acknowledge that I need help.”
His defence asked the judge on Tuesday to consider a sentence of time served and argued Anderson should be credited for being in custody for three years.
A psychiatric report by Dr. Philip Klassen stated earlier this year that Anderson has low self-esteem issues that make it hard for him to associate with women and confirmed he wanted to have sexual relations with minors. Klassen was unable to make a definitive diagnosis but concluded the report by saying Anderson represents a danger to public safety.
Federal prosecutor Sabina Burdo mentioned several reasons for recommending the five-year sentence, including his young age, guilty plea and lack of a criminal record.
Anderson admitted, according to the agreed facts, that the threats uttered to the two victims constitute terrorism offences as defined by the Criminal Code.
If you’re affected by this news report, you can look for mental health support through resources in your province or territory.
