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COOK, Ont. — The defense is set to continue its arguments at the sentencing hearing for a man who stabbed three people in a gender studies class at the University of Waterloo last year.

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Geovanny Villalba-Aleman pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated assault, one count of assault with a weapon and one count of assault occasioning bodily harm in the June 2023 attack.

Federal prosecutors argued the crimes amounted to terrorism in the case because they were motivated by ideology and intended to intimidate the public, while provincial prosecutors told the court Thursday the killings were motivated by hate.

The provincial crown cited Villalba-Aleman’s hateful remarks about feminists and members of the LGBTQ+ community among the aggravating factors the court must consider in sentencing.

Villalba-Aleman’s defense attorney rejected the idea that the attack was driven by ideology and said the federal Crown had not proven beyond a reasonable doubt that terrorist activity occurred in the case.

The defense argues that Villalba-Aleman was motivated not by hatred of a particular group, but by a belief that “leftist thinking” stifled his freedom of speech.

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