SASKATOON, Sask. — A Saskatoon judge told Brandon Taylor Moore he “crossed a line” when his online commentary about the war in Gaza “coloured an entire people.”
Moore, 45, was sentenced Monday to an 18-month conditional sentence (CSO). He had pleaded guilty to inciting hatred against Jewish people. He represented himself.
“I understand you don’t agree with where Parliament and the courts have drawn that line, and I would say very respectfully that your disagreement may come from your privileged position,” said Justice Sanjeev Anand.
“You can disagree with what a government has done,” he added. “But when your comments go beyond the government and colour an entire people, you have crossed a line, and a line that is a very important line.”
Crown cites ‘quid pro quo’ behind joint submission
Crown prosecutor David Piche told the court the sentence was a joint submission reached after weighing significant risks in taking the case to trial.
Piche said the Crown anticipated Moore would raise a good-faith religious defence, that the offence of willful promotion of antisemitism under section 319(2.1) has never been constitutionally tested in Canada, and that the case faced an 18-month Jordan ceiling.
“The guilty plea broadly covers the ambit of Mr. Moore’s promotion and incitement of hatred,” said Piche. “The 18-month CSO proposed has teeth to it. He will be serving house arrest.”
He said aggravating factors included the wide audience and pattern of posting. Mitigating factors included Moore’s lack of a criminal record, his early guilty plea, and his willingness to engage in programming.
Victim impact statements describe fear, altered daily life
Court heard from several community members and organizations.
David Katzman, speaking for Congregation Agudas Israel in Saskatoon, told the court he was warned as a teenager that antisemitism “never truly dies” and “simply goes to sleep, waiting for the right conditions to return.”
“As a Jew, I did not experience Brandon Moore’s posts as abstract ideas," said Katzman. "I read them as messages directed at me, my family, my synagogue, my friends, and every Jewish child growing up in Saskatchewan."
He described eggs thrown at the synagogue during Saturday morning services, a Molotov cocktail thrown into its library, and a Jewish student in Saskatchewan having pennies thrown at him and swastikas drawn on school buses and textbooks.
Rochelle Direnfeld, senior criminal counsel and board member with the Alliance of Canadians Combatting Antisemitism, read a joint statement on behalf of multiple Jewish organizations.
Direnfeld, who has 32 years of experience as a prosecutor, cited Statistics Canada data showing 788 police-reported hate crimes targeting the Jewish community in 2025 — 71 per cent of all religiously motivated hate crimes in Canada.
Emily Bonnell read a statement on behalf of Gershon Willinger, a Holocaust survivor born in Amsterdam in 1942 who was hidden by Dutch resistance members, deported to Bergen-Belson and Theresienstadt, and whose parents were murdered at Sobibor.
“Reading about Mr. Moore’s conduct, I did not recognize a new form of hatred. I recognized the same hatred that destroyed my family, only expressed through the technology of today.”
Moore addresses court, acknowledges responsibility
Moore told the court he has spent most of his adult life contributing to Saskatoon. He has been married 20 years, is a father, a coach, a business owner since 2012, a volunteer recognized by Big Brothers Big Sisters, and a children’s church teacher.
He said he was motivated by images of children killed in Gaza, citing UNICEF figures and a UN commission of inquiry finding reasonable grounds to conclude Israel has committed genocide.
“The law is what it is, and I’m not here because of my faith. I’m here because of how my words read to the public, and because I knew they could be read that way. I never wished harm on any person, and I’ve stated publicly many times that violence is never the answer.”
Justice Anand told Moore he accepted that he didn’t intend to promote hatred but was reckless as to whether his statements would stir hatred.
“Don’t let your passions for individuals who may have been the victims of injustice colour your perspective of the good people who are your neighbours.”
Sentence conditions
The conditional sentence requires Moore to remain under house arrest 24-hours a day for the first six months, except with written permission. After six months he will have a curfew from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. He won’t have a curfew the last six months. In addition, he is required to complete educational programming about hate speech, and any related counselling. He must complete 150 hours of community service by the end of the fifteenth month.
He was ordered not to publish or post on any public internet site or social media about persons of Jewish religion or ethnic origin during the duration of the order. He isn’t to refer to B’nai B’rith or the Friends of the Simon Wiesenthal Center on social media. He also has to delete all posts on his X account between Feb. 1, 2024, and Dec. 17, 2025.
If Moore breaches any condition, he could be required to serve the remainder of his sentence in jail.
Saskatoon police launch online hate-crime reporting tool
In an effort to increase awareness around hate-motivated crime and to improve access to reporting related incidents, the SPS created a web page and added to its online reporting function.
The unit monitors hate-motivated crime for the purpose of aiding in identifying crimes and criminals, and to assist with sentencing at the end of the judicial process.
