Canadian minister says "strong ties" between protests and far-right extremists
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The minister's comments came after some protesters were accused of plotting to kill officers in Coutts.
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Some officials are afraid that weapons may be present within protests (Getty Images)
The public safety minister of Canada Marco Mendicino warned of links between the protestors occupying the country's capital and a gang of far-right extremists arrested earlier this week in the border town of Coutts, Alberta, on suspicion of plotting to assassinate police officers.
The minister told reporters on Wednesday that “Several of the individuals at Coutts have strong ties to a far-right extreme organization with leaders who are in Ottawa."
On January 22, a mass protest in Canada's capital of Ottawa began against vaccine mandates and has been ongoing for nearly 3 weeks.
Last week, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau declared that it had to stop, while Canada's public safety minister said police will adopt much tougher responses against demonstrators and that blockades at border crossings, airports, and across the city of Ottawa will be prohibited.
In the Monday arrest, more than a dozen pistols and rifles, as well as ammo and body armor, were confiscated by police. Four of the detained are now suspected of planning the murder of many Royal Canadian Mounted Police personnel and civilians.
Mendicino's remarks fuel suspicions that extremist forces are involved in the uprising. Without naming the group, the minister added that "we are talking about a group that is organized, agile, knowledgeable and driven by an extremist ideology where might makes right.”
Photos taken after the arrests in Coutts reveal that part of the equipment was emblazoned with a flag with a white stripe running diagonally across a black backdrop.
BREAKING: Gear seized by police at #Coutts includes a plate carrier with Diagolon patches. Diagolon is an accelerationist movement with members and chapters across Canada. Its de factor leader is Jeremy MacKenzie.
— Canadian Anti-Hate Network (@antihateca) February 15, 2022
1/pic.twitter.com/SPTrbXkOjh pic.twitter.com/z7J9ZdCjUk
According to extremist researchers Anti-Hate Canada, the symbol is the flag of the satirical country of Diagolon – as well as the insignia of the same name "neo-fascist" and militia movement. Researchers believe that meetings with members posing with weapons may suggest it is developing into a "militia network."
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The country of fictional satirical country "Diagolon"
On its Telegram channel, the group shared photos of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's head on a spike.
According to anti-extremist experts, the group's head is Jeremy MacKenzie, a known far-right activist who fought in a Canadian Armed Forces infantry unit during the Afghan war. On a webcast last April, he said, "Let's just go to Parliament Hill and burn it down."
In late January, he was arrested on firearms charges and freed pending trial.
Protesters and organizers in Ottawa have consistently denied using violence and emphasized that their demonstration is about nonviolent civil disobedience.
However, according to police and emergency response sources in Ottawa, officials are afraid that weapons may be present and certain members see the protests as a spark for a larger upheaval.
“What we’re beginning to see emerge now are the hallmarks of a sophisticated and capable organization of a small number of individuals, but with a steel resolve, driven by an extreme ideology that would seek to create to overthrow the existing government,” Mendicino said.
"I smell civil war coming to Canada," said the anti-vaccine organization Hold Fast, which has a presence in Ottawa. On Zello, the occupiers' semi-official digital radio app, one frequent user said “I think we’ve got to lynch more than Trudeau. I think the peaceful protest is going to have to start changing.”
The head of Canada First, a far-right and anti-Semitic organization present during the occupation, recently warned that “Trudeau cannot stop what is inevitable.”
After an outpouring of criticism for his department's handling of the trucker demonstrations that have paralyzed Canada's capital for the last two weeks, Ottawa's chief officer resigned on Tuesday.
Last week, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau declared that it had to stop, while Canada's public safety minister said police will adopt much tougher responses against demonstrators and that blockades at border crossings, airports, and across the city of Ottawa will be prohibited.
