Newly released video was shown Monday at the sentencing hearing for a retired public servant who pleaded guilty to firebombing the RBC branch in the Glebe last spring.
Roger Clement, 58, admits he is one of the masked men seen on surveillance footage entering the bank moments before a massive explosion in May.
Clement is seen carrying a pail of gasoline into the ATM area of the bank; another unidentified man is seen lighting a Molotov cocktail that starts the fire.
The fire was set in the middle of the night, closing the bank for months. At the time, a self-proclaimed anarchist group called Fighting for Freedom Coalition Ottawa claimed responsibility for the firebombing.
A manifesto posted online claimed the group targeted the bank because of its sponsorship of the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver. The group added it planned to be at the upcoming G8/G20 summits in Toronto in June.
Clement is the ring leader of the firebombing, and will be the only one who will serve time in jail.
In court, he told the judge he participated in the firebombing to protest the bank's policy related to Alberta's oil sands and the bank's sponsorship of the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games.
But those who know Clement say the firebombing is completely out of character. A longtime friend says perhaps his sister's long battle with cancer sent him over the edge.
"I can only explain him falling off the edge a bit by the family tragedy," said Marvin Glass, who has known Clement for 15 years.
"The Roger I knew would have thought twice about it."
Clement's lawyer explained that his client faced tremendous family challenges leading up to the incident, and has asked for leniency when the judge considers his sentence.
Clement's sentence will be delivered Tuesday morning.
With a report from CTV Ottawa's Kate Eggins
