I saw that the Toronto van attack trial began earlier this week. What do I need to know?
In 2018, this event changed the lives of a lot of people. This primer will get you caught up on the man facing the consequences and the trial.
Hey there, and welcome to the fifth issue of The Supplement, a newsletter that fills in the gaps of your other news intake. This is Samantha, one-third of the Supplement team!
Each week, we pick a question submitted by you, our readers. If you’d like to submit a question for a future week — it can seriously be about anything — then email us at thesupplementnewsletter@gmail.com. We’re also popping off over on Instagram, so make sure to give us a follow.
This week, we’re tackling this question: I saw that the Toronto van attack trial began earlier this week. What do I need to know?
TL;DR:
In 2018, Alek Minassian deliberately drove into pedestrians along Toronto’s Yonge Street, killing 10 people — most of whom were women — and seriously injuring 16 others. Now he’s on trial for first-degree murder and attempted murder. Pay attention to Minassian’s history as an incel — it provides context as to how online behaviour in communities that uphold misogyny can play a role in the real-life attacks we've seen in our country.
Here’s our answer:
First, a refresher on the case.
In April 2018, then-25-year-old Alek Minassian drove a rented van down Toronto’s busy Yonge Street, intentionally aiming for crowds. Ten people were killed — eight of them women — and 16 others were seriously injured. Minassian has referred to his plan as a “mission,” orchestrated weeks in advance.
Minassian’s trial began Tuesday morning over Zoom. The trial will weigh whether he is guilty of 10 first-degree murder charges (first-degree, meaning that prosecutors hope to demonstrate it was pre-meditated) and 16 counts of attempted murder.
Minassian admitted to carrying out the attack, but has pleaded not guilty to all charges. He argues that he should be found not criminally responsible due to his mental state at the time of the killings, which will be a key issue in the trial.
Manisha Krishnan is one of the journalists covering the full trial from the virtual courtroom for VICE News. Here’s her coverage of the first day in court — content warning for extremely graphic, disturbing details. You can also follow her on Twitter for live, daily coverage.
An extremely important element of this case is that Minassian is a self-described incel, shorthand for “involuntary celibate”: a member of a misogynistic online community made up of mostly men who are angry that women won’t date or have sex with them.
Minassian says he used Reddit and 4Chan to communicate with other incels, including men who went on to commit mass killings of their own. Message boards like these have become notorious for zero oversight, allowing members to post conspiracy theories and far-right politics and radicalizing many, especially young men.
Veteran crime reporter Katherine Laidlaw recently published an illuminating feature on the making of an incel, detailing how misogyny in online forums morphs into real-life violence. Read it as you follow this story for crucial context — here’s a very interesting snippet:
During high-profile cases like these, a lot of focus is placed on the accused, and sometimes the victims and survivors go unnoticed or unacknowledged once the spotlight is shining firmly on the courtroom drama. With this trial, which is taking place over Zoom, that has proved especially true. To combat that, read this 2018 story from The Globe and Mail, a humanizing and deeply empathetic account of what brought each victim to the sidewalk that day.
We love this article as well, about the city’s hope and resilience.
Here’s someone to follow:
Arvin Joaquin just started a new role as a journalist with national newscast OMNIFilipino. He’s a master at balancing feel-good stories with hard-hitting reporting, and is working to diversify the Canadian media landscape. We’ve been a fan of his work for a while: before his current job he was at Xtra, Canada’s leading LGBTQ2 publication.
Here’s a story to check out:
We all know the podcast hype is far from over. So if you haven’t already, meet Canadaland politics show COMMONS. After being accurately hyped up by producers Arshy Mann and Jordan Cornish, their latest episode dropped Wednesday morning and it’s an absolutely wild ride.
