'Riverdale' Actor Who Killed Mom Allegedly Plotted To Kill Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau

A Canadian actor who has had roles in “Riverdale” and “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” allegedly plotted to kill Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau after, he admitted, he killed his own mother.

The new allegations came up during a Monday sentencing hearing in British Columbia for Ryan Grantham, 24, in the murder of his mother in 2020. The court must decide how long the actor will serve before being eligible to apply for parole, the CBC reports.

He pleaded guilty in March to second-degree murder — which carries a mandatory life sentence — for the fatal shooting of his 64-year-old mother Barbara Waite.

Grantham shot his mother in the back of the head in Squamish, British Columbia — about 40 miles north of Vancouver — as she played piano on March 31, 2020.

Prosecutors explained in court this week that Grantham not only rehearsed the murder, but he recorded videos following it in which he both confessed and revealed images of his mother’s dead body. 

The court also heard how he allegedly packed up his car the following day with guns, Molotov cocktails, camping supplies and directions to the historic, government-owned cottage in Ottawa in which Trudeau and his family currently reside, the CBC reports.

He never completed the 47-hour cross-country drive.

Instead, prosecutors said, he drove just two-and-a-half hours west to Hope, British Columbia, thought about committing violent acts closer to home and eventually simply drove to Vancouver and he turned himself in at police headquarters. 

Crown prosecutor Michaela Donnelly noted that Grantham was depressed in the months leading up to the murder and that he felt shame that he'd stopped attending classes at Simon Fraser University. Psychiatric reports determined that Grantham wanted to kill his mother to protect her from the violence he allegedly wanted to unleash by assassinating the country’s leader.

"Mr. Grantham was seeking to save his mother from something he was going to do," Donnelly said Monday according to the CBC. "That is something different than altruism."

Grantham allegedly confessed his plan to kill the prime minister in a statement to police, according to Complex Canada. Excerpts of his journal, in which he also allegedly confessed his desires, were read aloud to the court on Monday.

The psychiatric reports also blamed his use of cannabis for his depression and mindset at the time of the murder.

It's not clear if the actor will be officially charged for the alleged assassination attempt. The British Columbia Prosecution Service has not immediately responded to Oxygen.com’s request for comment.

The once-child actor starred in movies including “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” in 2009 and “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” in 2010. His last acting credit was a 2019 episode of “Riverdale.”