Tomasz Winnicki

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Tomasz Winnicki (born November 17, 1975) is a white supremacist and anti-Semite based in London, Ontario. He was the subject of complaints before the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal for his activities and is also facing criminal charges on weapons offences. In July 2006 he was sentenced to nine months in prison for violating a Federal Court injunction barring him from posting hateful material on the Internet. [1]

Thomasz Winnicki protesting the 2004 Gay Pride parade in London, ON. Also protesting were members of the Northern Alliance, Melissa Guille and Paul Fromm
Thomasz Winnicki protesting the 2004 Gay Pride parade in London, ON. Also protesting were members of the Northern Alliance, Melissa Guille and Paul Fromm

Winnicki is a prolific poster on Alex Linder's Vanguard News Network (VNN) web forum. Winnicki had previously posted using the username Thexder_3D however he later opted to post using his real name after having been publicly identified. Winnicki is noted for the often angry tone of his posts which are almost always laced with profanity and racial slurs.

As a result of his online writings, Ottawa human rights lawyer Richard Warman filed a federal human rights complaint against Winnicki. Winnicki has now been the subject of hearings before the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal in August and October of 2005 with closing arguments heard on Dec. 12, 2005. Winnicki faced the possibility of a permanent cease and desist order, a penalty of up to $10,000 and damages of up to $60,000 for naming the complainant personally in the discriminatory material and attempting to retaliate against him for having filed the complaint.

The Federal Court of Canada issued an injunction against Winnicki on October 4, 2005 enjoining him from posting hate propaganda until the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal issues a decision in the case against him. The judge said:

"Having looked at these messages in their entirety and in context, I have no doubt that they are likely to expose persons of the Jewish faith to hatred or contempt, as these concepts have been defined in Nealy, supra, and approved in Taylor, supra. And the same can be said of the messages which target persons of the black race. They are undoubtedly as vile as one can imagine and are not only discriminatory but threatening to the victims they target." [2]

He went on to say:

"In conclusion, I have no hesitation in holding that the words complained of are so manifestly contrary to the letter and the spirit of s. 13 of the CHRA that any finding to the contrary would be considered highly suspect."[2]

Winnicki was the subject of contempt of court proceedings in Ottawa before the Federal Court as he was alleged to have broken the injunction by continuing to post hate to the Internet. [3][4] In July, Winnicki was sentenced to nine months imprisonment by the Federal Court of Canada for disregarding the court order and continuing to spread "the unrelenting message of hatred" over the internet. [5] Winnicki faces a second contempt for continuing to violate the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal's permanent cease and desist order of April, 2006.

After spending less than three months in jail, Winnicki was released in the fall of 2006 pending his appeal of the nine months sentence that was handed down on July 2006 for contempt of court. The appeal will be heard on January 16, 2007. [6]

Winnicki has been criticized by some of his fellow white supremacists for employing a Chinese-Canadian lawyer, Chi-Kun Shi, to defend him before the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal.

In April, the Tribunal released its ruling and fined Winnicki $6000 for violating the Canadian Human Rights Act and ordered him to pay an additional $5,500 in damages to the complainant, Richard Warman. The Tribunal found that Winnnicki's internet postings were "vicious and dehumanizing" and ordered him to stop posting hateful messages on the internet. [7]

In addition to his online activities, Winnicki has attended a number of protests within London, Ontario where he resides with his mother, as well as some others outside of London. In September 2004 Winnicki and three others were stopped by the police as they were driving to rally in support of Holocaust denier Ernst Zündel in Toronto. He was charged with carrying a concealed weapon, having weapons at a public meeting and possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose after Toronto police found throwing knives, a bow and arrows, and body armour in the vehicle he was driving to the rally. He pleaded guilty to weapons charges on November 23 2006, receiving a conditional discharge with 6 months of probation.

Winnicki and his family emigrated from Poland to Italy and then, after a year and a half, to Canada in 1987.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Richmond, Randy (July 13, 2006). City's 'biggest hater' gets 9 months in jail. The London Free Press.
  2. ^ a b Justice de Montigny, Amended Reasons for Order, Canadian Human Rights Commission v Tomasz Winnicki, November 28, 2005
  3. ^ Richmond, Randy, "Local supremacist faces contempt charges", London Free Press, April 20, 2006
  4. ^ Staff, "Tribunal orders Winnicki to stop spreading net hate", Jewish Tribune, April 27, 2006, pg 7
  5. ^ Richmond, Randy (July 13, 2006). City's 'biggest hater' gets 9 months in jail. The London Free Press.
  6. ^ Winnicki freed. The Jewish Tribune (October 5, 2006).
  7. ^ Richmond, Randy (April 14, 2006). Supremacist fined $11,500. The London Free Press.

[edit] External links