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The case was stayed on Oct. 29, 1996, according to his court file. Company officials said they could not recall the case and no other details were provided by the court. The details of his conviction for threatening are sealed because he received a pardon in 2009.

The suspects were both known for their outspoken views on Muslims. A part-time imam at a Toronto mosque said he was disturbed by Mr. Jaser’s “radical talk” but did not think it was serious enough to report.

Mohamed Ali, who occasionally fills in as imam at the Masjid Al-Faisal, said he met Mr. Jaser in September 2011 and they began having coffee together.

Mr. Ali said in an interview he became alarmed when his new friend began saying things like, “They’re out to get us so we must get them.” But Mr. Ali said he thought it was just talk.

“It never crossed into violence. That’s why I always used to take him away from that talk and talk about different things,” he said. “I thought it was just jokes or just talk but when he’d get heated up and get serious I’d talk him down into something else, calm him down.”

I thought it was just jokes or just talk but when he’d get heated up and get serious I’d talk him down into something else, calm him down

He said he would do that by focusing on the compassion of the Muslim prophet Muhammad. “You talk more about mercy and how kind the prophet was and how we always look for the goodness of humanity, and that’s what God would want us to do.”

Mr. Jaser brought Mr. Esseghaier to the mosque about six months ago but Mr. Ali said he had no indication they were planning anything. “That never occurred to my mind,” he said.