Kingston youth facing terror charges held until at least next week

Jan 28, 2019 | 6:15 AM

KINGSTON, Ont. — A youth facing terrorism charges in Kingston, Ont., will be back in court next week, after his lawyer has had more time to study his case.

The RCMP charged the youth last week, saying he tried to persuade someone to plant a bomb. He is charged with knowingly facilitating a terrorist activity and with counselling someone to use an explosive or other lethal device to cause death or serious bodily injury.

On Monday afternoon the teen made a brief appearance in criminal court by video link from the Brookside Youth Centre in Cobourg, about 150 kilometres away, where he is being held until an eventual bail hearing.

He cannot be identified under provisions of the Youth Criminal Justice Act. The youth’s defence lawyer, veteran Kingston attorney Douglas Caldwell, declined to speak with reporters Monday.

Another man was arrested at the same time as the youth but was released the next day without charges.

The police, who began investigating in December following a tip from the FBI, said last Friday that no actual device was ever planted in the alleged plot. No target was identified and no time had been chosen, they said. But there was an “attack plan” that needed to be disrupted, they said.

Police said a potentially explosive substance — “precursor elements” for a bomb — was found in a search after the arrests, removed and blown up to neutralize it.

Lee Berthiaume, The Canadian Press