IS supporter’s surety bond withdrawn over lack of apology, gratitude

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This article was published 29/06/2015 (4058 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The surety bond that allowed Islamic State supporter Aaron Driver to walk free for two weeks was withdrawn last week because Driver failed to show more gratitude for living in Canada.

“Aaron should have apologized for his remarks in the interview with CBC and expressed his gratitude for living in a safe, peaceful and comfortable country,” his landlord, who posted and later withdrew the surety bond, said Monday.

The withdrawl of the surety bond last week led to Driver’s re-arrest Friday. He was to appear in court on Monday but the appearance has been postponed until Tuesday.

Driver told CBC that the attack on Parliament Hill last October was justified. He maintained the Canadian government brought it on itself for its role in the Middle East war. Attacker Michael Zehaf-Bibeau shot and killed Cpl. Nathan Cirillo, at the National War Monument in Ottawa, on Oct. 22, before charging into Parliament Hill, where he was killed.

“These are attacks on police officers and these are attacks on soldiers,” Driver said in an interview with CBC that aired June 24. “These are people who are part of the system. It’s entirely different. It’s not attacking innocents, people who are just going about their daily lives. If a country goes to war with another country or another people or another community, I think that they have to be prepared for things like that to happen, and when it does happen, they shouldn’t act surprised. They had it coming to them. They deserved it.”

The landlord, who did not want her name used, said Canada provides “many positive opportunities to raise a healthy family.”

But she added that Driver has not displayed violent behaviour. “He has been living for close to two years in a Christian home and he being Muslim, in harmony and peace.”

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Driver switched religions due to personal issues, according to a well-placed source. He and a girlfriend at the time had a baby that died at four days old and he became mad at God. So he decided to change religions. “That’s how he dealt with the pain,” the source said.

Driver, 23, was detained June 4 because of his public support for the militant IS. He has been on a watch list for the Canadian Security Intelligence Service for months because of his social media activity and has had several Twitter accounts suspended.