Ottawa twin brothers face terrorism-related charges

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Twin brothers Ashton and Carlos Larmond have much more in common than their interchangeable faces: hockey, jobs in construction, childhood roots in a struggling Ottawa neighbourhood where for many years their grandmother raised them, and a more-recent conversion to Islam.

Now, at 24, they are the latest pair of male siblings identified in a terrorist investigation – their extremist pursuits allegedly grown here at home. As millions of people were preparing to march in Paris on the weekend to denounce the brutal acts of another set of brothers, the Larmond twins faced multiple terrorism-related charges in an Ottawa court, stemming from RCMP allegations that the brothers planned to leave the country to participate in terrorism overseas.

According to court documents, the charges – which follow a lengthy national investigation, according to the RCMP – cover a time frame that began in early August, 2014, and ended last Friday, when Carlos was arrested at Montreal's Pierre Elliott Trudeau airport. In addition to one count of attempting to leave Canada to commit a crime, Carlos is also charged with "knowingly participating in the activity of a terrorist group." Ashton, who was arrested in Ottawa, has also been charged with facilitating a terrorist group and instructing a person to carry out terrorist activity. The twin appeared in court on Saturday via a remote video connection from a police cell block at the Ottawa-Carleton detention centre. The lawyer representing them, Joseph Addelman, said while leaving the courthouse Saturday that they planned to "vigorously" defend themselves in court.

Meanwhile, many of the people who encountered the twins are struggling to reconcile the allegations with the young men they knew. Details of their lives remain sketchy, but the two boys lived for a time with their now-ailing grandmother in row-housing in Vanier, and according to a neighbour, continued to visit her. The brothers attended Rideau High School, which has a vocational stream. A profile on a teen social-media site suggests that Ashton, at 15, was a girl-crazy, athletic teenager, studying "trades" in high school, and spending some of his time "hanging out" at the Overbook Community Centre, which then had an evening drop-in program for local teens. One picture shows Ashton sporting an earring, another lounging at the community centre in pyjamas.

Carlos was a track-and-field athlete in school, and played hockey for the Ottawa East Thunder; he also enjoyed poker enough to register on a gaming website.

"They seemed to have a lot of friends," one Vanier neighbour said, asking not to be named. She recalled the boys frequently playing street hockey. "When they were in school, there were all kinds of kids around. They really loved their sports."

More recently, the two brothers had shared a spot on a team in a recreational hockey league. Until the arrests, Carlos, in fact, was expected to dress for the regular Sunday morning game at the University of Ottawa rink.

"They were guys in the locker room," said one player who asked not to be identified. "They both fit right in." Referred to the league by someone he knew from his construction work, Ashton was a skilled competitor, the player said, considered a number-one-level player when it came time for captains to choose teams. He only played about six games before quitting, the player said, for what he called "personal" reasons. His brother, took his place. The two looked so similar, the player said, that some of their teammates didn't immediately recognize the switch, except that Ashton, who had a longer beard, was also the better player. Friendly enough both in the locker room and on the ice – the twins, the player said, had three minor penalties between them – neither joined their teammates for drinks after the game. Though it is not yet clear when they converted, it was known they were Muslim, said the player; in addition to his beard, Ashton wore traditional dress. When asked to go for a beer, the player said, Carlos told them, "I don't drink beer and I don't eat pork." The players on the team included construction workers, a professor and a Canada Post worker – as well as, according to the player interviewed, someone who worked for the RCMP, who has since been interviewed by authorities about the brothers.

The twins, due back in court on Feb. 12, had previous encounters with the law – Mr. Addelman says he has represented them before but said he could not recall the circumstances, except that they were far less serious than the ones currently before the courts.