Naval "Proud Boy" Members in Halifax: Slap On the Wrist?

It would seem that at least one "Proud Boy" isn't so proud anymore, or at least he isn't so willing to speak with the media. Tom of Community TV contacted Grant Gauchier (Did I get that name right Grant? You insisted that your name be correct last time) but was left with this as a response:

Today the military confirmed (and what ARC had already confirmed) that all five men who disrupted a Mi'kmaw memorial remembering MMIWG in Halifax are in fact members of the Canadian Armed Forces though has only confirmed that two are members of the Royal Canadian Navy:

Five servicemen involved in incident at Indigenous ceremony in Halifax: militaryAdina Bresge, The Canadian Press Published Tuesday, July 4, 2017 1:30PM EDT Last Updated Tuesday, July 4, 2017 2:35PM EDT 

HALIFAX -- The military says five men involved in a filmed confrontation at an Indigenous ceremony in Halifax are members of the Canadian Armed Forces, and any misconduct will be addressed.

National Defence spokesman Daniel LeBouthillier confirmed Tuesday that five Forces members were involved in the incident, at least two of whom belong to the Navy. 

As such, ARC will confirm that at least 4 of the 5 are members of the Royal Canadian Navy and one is likely a member of the Army Reserves. One of our readers has provided the following information:

LS John Eldridge from HMCS Ville De Quebec
OS David Eldridge HMCS VDQ
CPL Eric Maurice 36 Signal Regiment
OS Grant Gauchier HMCS Scotian
OS Braidyn Pollitt HMCS Montreal

The article continues:

Commanders of the Canadian Army and Navy released a joint statement Tuesday saying that the chain of command "takes action" when a member's conduct is not in keeping with military code. 

"The actions of a few do not reflect the Royal Canadian Navy and Canadian Army commitment to being inclusive and diverse organizations," Vice-Admiral Ron Lloyd and Lt.-Gen. Paul Wynnyk said in a Facebook post. 

"Unfortunately, some of our sailors and soldiers have not ... made the necessary mind shift that leads to deep institutional change."

Well that is all well and good, but while Rear Admiral John Newton confirmed the five were members of the Canadian Armed Forces, he did so with the tone that they were mischievous scamps who carried things too far and disappointed their dad.

At this point the five have not had any formal disciplinary hearing, but it looked as if they would not be discharged. I may be wrong about that, but we'll see. Also, LeBouthillier's response to a question about whether First Nations would be consulted during the process -- they will consider it -- doesn't leave one with a great deal of confidence.

Now all five of the men have shut down or locked down their Facebooks so ARC was not able to get any other information, however Alheli Picazo managed to get some screen shots that indicate that at least some of the members also have interesting views not only about First Nations, but also Muslims, transgender persons, and rape.

Oh, and they seem not only to be "Proud Boys" bat a few are adherents of the alt-right:

Oh, the trolling is adorable.... 

Discussion on Kek from the Southern Poverty Law Canter

Ladies and gentlemen, your Canadian Armed Forces.

But hey, at least these five men have the support of III% Alberta, an anti-government militia:

<iframe width="853" height="480" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/tUWGZipuO1g" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Military "Proud Boys" Disrupt Mi'kmaw Memorial in Halifax

UPDATE 4: I'm actually reminded that this isn't the first story of far-right individuals who are or have been members of the Canadian military:

• GermBrit Comments on ARC
• More Trouble For Boneheads Planning on Attending Calgary Rally
• Paulie Plays Fast and Loose With the Truth

On Canada day, while members of the Mi'kmaw Nation held a memorial remembering MMIWG in Halifax, a local contingent of "Proud Boys" arrived to disrupt the event, because the "Proud Boys" are classy that way:

While two of the group were rather reticent about providing their names, the others were quite happy to do so:

UPDATE 1: There's a second video as well:



The gang later hit the pubs to celebrate their.... victory?

Left to Right: Braidyn Pollitt  John Eldridge, David Eldridge, Grant Gauchier, and Eric Maurice

As they kindly provided their names, it wasn't all that difficult to track down information about them. And the kicker is that all five of them are members of the Canadian Armed Forces:

These are John Eldridge, David Eldridge, Eric Maurice, Grant Gauchier, and one guy haven't confirmed the name yet [Braidyn Pollitt]: so-called "Proud Boys" - members of a far-right ultra-nationalist group - that turned up at the park where some Mi'kmaw folk were having a ceremony to mourn those kidnapped and murdered by the Canadian state. Most of them are also members of the armed forces [Note: all are in the Armed Forces]. 

We think it's important to spread their names and faces around so they can be held accountable, and also so folk can stay safe. One of the stages of membership in the organization requires committing an act of violence against an "antifascist". They might be some cowardly little shitweasles, but they *want* to be a white supremacist street organization, so keep your guard up.

So let's take a look at our new friends:

First we have a "Proud Boy" who doesn't seem to be so proud that he is willing to provide a name. That is something that can easily be rectified:

First, the hair. That neo-fascist style? No.... just no.

Also, and perhaps it's just me, but I can't seem to find his Facebook profile any longer. Again, why would a "Proud Boy" wish to disappear himself?

In any case, as evidenced by the caption provided by another participant in yesterday's desecration, Braidyn Pollitt is a member of the Royal Canadian Navy as are three of the remaining four who will be profiled:

More on Grant very soon.

Then we have the first to bravely provide his name, John Eldridge:

We follow John with his brother Dave Eldridge:

Also surprisingly shy for a "Proud Boy" is Eric Maurice who, since his identity has been discovered, has tightened up his Facebook profile, though not before someone was able to get the following screen shots:

It looks as though Eric might be in a different branch of the Canadian Armed Forces and not in the Canadian Royal Navy like the others (UPDATE: seems he too is likely in the navy).

Last the fella who insisted that anyone watching the video get his name right, Grant Gauchier:

Dear god, you can smell the douchiness even before looking at the screen shots. These are from the day they disrupted the memorial:

And these are him in uniform:

Now, if anyone thinks that the Canadian Royal Navy should be made aware of what Braidyn Pollitt John Eldridge, David Eldridge, Grant Gauchier, and Eric Maurice are up to (because goodness knows nothing bad has ever happened with overt far-right nationalists in the Canadian military before), who am I to stand in your way?

The Honourable Harjit Singh Sajjan: Minister of National Defence

• Website 
• Twitter 

Royal Canadian Navy

• Website 
• Twitter 

Vice-Admiral Maurice Frank Ronald "Ron" Lloyd

• Twitter 

UPDATE: Well, it seems that this has become quite a popular article as it has, in less than a day, passed "The History of Violence" as ARC's most read article.... and the numbers are still climbing.

It also seems that the collective efforts of those who are disgusted with the display by these five men are yielding some results:

UPDATE 3: I have the feeling that these young men have very much come to regret engaging in what they termed as a "patriotic bub crawl"

• Two Navy members linked to Canada Day incident at Indigenous ceremony
• Disruptions of First Nations gathering causes outrage
• 'This is a British colony': Group disrupts Mi'kmaq ceremony in Halifax
• 2 navy members linked to Canada Day incident at Indigenous ceremony

Soldiers of Odin: A Spent Force But Members and Former Members Still Potential Danger

This article is scheduled to be published automatically on July 1. The writer for ARC will not be available that day because there are bbq hamburgers, beaver tails, and beers that need to be consumed.

A little over two weeks ago, the Soldiers of Odin in BC were present at a protest outside a mosque in Surrey. Whether or not they were the primary organizers of the protest or if they were simply participants -- members have been attending other anti-Muslim events organized by other individuals wearing their SoO "gear" -- isn't clear from the news article. Still it was one of the more visible actions taken by the British Columbia SoO for some time.

As mentioned elsewhere on the blog, the SoO seems to be in decline and is hemorrhaging both members and entire chapters. This is also the conclusion of others who have been studying the rise and fall of the anti-Muslim gang as stated by Yannick Veilleux-Lepage, researcher at the Handa Centre for the Study of Terrorism and Political Violence at the University of St Andrews, in an article about the gang by Stewart Bell:

Soldiers of Odin "not afraid to use violence," says intel report that raises concerns about targeting of immigrants. https://t.co/DzK587Fpsz

— Stewart Bell (@StewartBellNP) June 28, 2017

“They’re starting to look like a spent force,” he said. Together with Emil Archambault of Durham University, Veilleux-Lepage identified 265 Canadians associated with the Soldiers of Odin. But many have jumped to join other organizations in the past two to three months, he said.

That latter part mentioning members joining other organizations is one that will be addressed briefly in this article and in more detail in a future article.

However, despite the decline, the gang does remain a threat and was certainly seen as a threat by the Canada Border Services Agency in 2016 when the gang was was increasing in size and the number of chapters across the country:

“Members of the SOO are generally Caucasian males between the ages of 20 and 40 who adhere to right-wing politics and ideology — some members adhere to extreme right-wing ideology and are not afraid to use violence to achieve objectives,” the CBSA report said.....The one-page report was dated April 2016 but was only recently released under the Access to Information Act. Since it was written, the Canadian SOO franchises have succumbed to infighting and some have shut down.

Now given the collapse of the SoO, this may all seem a bit dated. But the danger this group still presents is perhaps most evident by studying the collapse.

Prior to Bill Daniels taking over the national SoO in an apparent coup and rejecting links with the Finnish parent chapter (more on this later), there had been a number of high profile defections from the SoO, both individuals and entire provincial chapters, that ARC has detailed on these pages. In Alberta, one incident ARC didn't cover was especially ugly and included numerous examples where both sides threatened violent retribution.

Bryan "SOO" was at one time a prominent member of the Alberta chapter of the SoO, but in March he was kicked out of the group based on claims that he had engaged in behavior that wasn't appropriate and demanded the return of his SoO "gear" and patches.. Whether the claims made by the SoO leadership were true or not, Bryan decided to respond in a manner that was considered very provocative:

The reaction to this from then active SoO members, including SoO Finnish founder and neo-Nazi Mika Ranta, was swift as Bryan burnt his gear live:

Your Ward News Hate Rag Update

Well, this happened today:

Because providing personal information to someone (Sears) with a history of engaging in harassment and who has close connections with neo-Nazi and their supporters can't be all THAT bad:

Yeah, however decided to release that information really is a special kind of stupid.

Prior to this, with the exception of James Sears' bravado on Twitter regarding criminal charges being brought against him by Warren and Lisa Kinsella, there wasn't a great deal of commentary from the usual suspects. However Larry McCurry eventually chimed in to offer his $0.02:

Hell, it's more likely that McCurry is worried about having to find another job.

June 25 And The WCAI: Not To Beat A Dead Horse, But....

Look, I know that ARC has spending an inordinate amount of time focused on the Worldwide Coalition Against Islam (WCAI) and their MEGA Rally in Calgary this past weekend. As a result I haven't had time to focus on other stories such as Ronny Cameron (poor, poor, snowflake) being humiliated at Toronto's Pride Parade because someone said something mean to him; got to grow a thicker skin there buddy. Or the more concerning activities of the JDL and Ontario chapter of the Canadian Combat Coalition (CCC). And then there's fact that the Guardians of Alberta have now merged with the CCC under the latter's name.

But really, covering the WCAI MEGA Rally has been somewhat of a guilty pleasure. Besides, I can't allow the principle organizers of the event, silent until now, to not have their say in how the event fared.

For example, Ryan Dean of the CCC stated that in spite of the roadblocks, the rally was actually a complete success and that somehow it was an ingenious plan to manipulate the counter-protesters.... somehow. Really, he doesn't exactly provide a great deal of detail on that part:

Take notice of the physical position of the Patriots... placed on a higher ground.

Dude, it's not like you stormed the beaches of Normandy and scaled Pointe du Hoc to take out German artillery under heavy fire. You were escorted up a flight of stairs while people made fun of you then, after you were done, entered into an air conditioned building and took a group photo. That, and the only people ARC knows to have a criminal record are your co-organizer as well as the WCAI Saskatchewan "captain".

WCAI Anti-Muslim Hate Group June 25 Pretty Much Quelled

So it has been a few hours since the Worldwide Coalition Against Islam (WCAI) which is primarily (though not necessarily exclusively) an anti-Muslim hate group held their MEGA Rally at Calgary City Hall. The media did cover the event, something that DeLuca had hoped would happen because then they, "couldn't be ignored":

• Heavy police presence in Calgary as anti-Islam group clashes with opposition Sunday
• Anti-Islam rally in Calgary met with counter-protest but remains peaceful
• Counter-protesters outnumber Calgary anti-Muslim group

But as all these stories, including the following from CTV News Calgary, show, it is how insignificant the WCAI really is:

A Sunday afternoon gathering of roughly 30 members and supporters of a group with an anti-Muslim stance was met by more than 100 vocal opponents during the event in the plaza outside the Calgary municipal building.

To put this into further perspective, there were as many police officers separating the WCAI members and their supporters from the anti-fascist and other counter-protesters.

That, ladies and gentlemen, has to be considered a failure considering Joey DeLuca promised an event that would change the way Canada sees anti-Muslim protests. He promised live bands, international guest speakers, food, children's entertainment, a dancing pig mascot, and most importantly hundreds, if not thousands, of supporters many of whom were to have traveled to Canada from the United States.

Aside from Bill Finlay who was arrested upon landing and sent back to Florida within hours, it doesn't look like many (if any) Americans traveled north of the border to support the WCAI protest.

That's got to sting,

At this point the main organizers and spokespeople -- Joe DeLuca, Jesse Wielenga, and Ryan Dean -- have been silent. However our friends from the Cultural Action Party have commented on how wildly successful the protest was:

Yes, the Cultural Action Party did indeed come in full force.... all two of them.

Dude, I know that you're trying to polish a turd, but this really isn't helping.

Even an old Aryan Guard/Blood & Honour supporter who attended pretty much all of the "White Pride" marches organized by Kyle McKee and co. wasn't at all impressed:

"Alleged event."

Ouch.

Considering DeLuca has spent much of the last three months hyping June 24 25 by making fun of the efforts of other groups who could only manage 20 to 30 people, this has to sting:

Yeah, we're all laughing at you Joey.

I'll leave you with Tom of Community TV (check out his YouTube channel) who gave ARC permission to post his take on the event:

UPDATE:

Tom has uploaded a full length video detailing the events of the day:

WCAI Anti-Muslim Hate Group June 25 Protest Information

This post will be continually updated as information comes in.

So far, all seems quite at Olympic Plaza based on a couple of posts by a Canadian Combat Coalition supporter:

Myatt and "Proudboy" Georges Massaad seem to be on their way though:

As of 12:30, only police seem to be present:

It should be noted that Coker appears to also be a supporter of the Sons of Odin. 

There is evidence that they will be arriving in substantially smaller numbers than they had claimed based on video posted to the Canadian Combat Coalition Facebook group. While I can't get a video from the site due to the settings of the group, I did get this particular screen shot which will probably be emblematic of the uplifting tone of the protest soon to take place:

At 12:47, Saskatchewan WCAI "captain" Christopher Hayes provides a bit of a tease.

At 1:00, indication that the WCAI hate group and supporters are on their way to Olympic Plaza:

Doesn't look particularly "mega" at this point, does it?

1:05, they are at Olympic Plaza. For what they billed as a family friendly festival, they aren't behaving so family friendly.

1:15: Yes Jesse, you do bravely turn your back to the counter-protesters.... though I can't help noticing the wall of police officers between you and them. Still, very, very, brave of you.... I suppose?

Fyi, Tom from Community TV out of Medicine Hat says he smelled rum on Wielenga's breath during the protest.

Steven Myatt is also live streaming the event:

Photo taken at around 1:20. Looks sort of.... not mega at all actually:

Now the videos of the speeches begin. Video will follow as soon as they are done.

1:25: Joey DeLuca and Jesse Wielenga are speaking.... poorly.

1:32: Christopher Hayes is speaking claiming that his arrest and conviction for threatening to kill Prime Minister Trudeau as evidence that they are being oppressed and free speech is being taken away. Chris, baby, you aren't helping your case.

The live video is interspersed with homophobic slurs, btw.

1:34: Brad Salzberg attacking immigrants, Muslims, refugees, LGTBQ, Sikhs, and everyone not white and calling Trudeau a traitor. By the way, the one Sikh guy who joined the WCAI protest might be feeling a bit uncomfortable right about now.

Based on reports, it looks as if 25 - 35 WCAI supporters have shown up to protest. But don't let Joey hear you don't think it is MEGA!

I thought DeLuca organized this event to show how to do an event and made fun of those who organized small rallies with only a few people showing up.

1:44: Devon Mannix going on and on about "old stock Canadians" again. He's also bitching about Bill Finlay not being allowed into Canada, refers to non-Christian religions as "barbaric" (again dude, there's a Sikh with you buddy) and that Canada is a Christian nation. Believes those opposed to multiculturalism and Islam are the silent majority who will "take their country back."

But they aren't racists....

1:55: After some thoughtful and learned banter between Jesse Wielenga and Ryan Dean in which the word "fuck" was used fewer than 4 times in 10 seconds (well done boys), Sandra Solomon speaking now. Same boilerplate garbage she's been pedaling for a while now. Engages in a lot of self-promotion at the end. I can't help noticing that only 26 people are watching the video though:

In another video by Steven Myatt, DeLuca voices his disappointment in the protest at approx 7:55 of the video, an event which he had hoped would have been so much more than it turned out to be especially after mocking similarly attended protests. However, he says the next WCAI event will be yuge!!!

2:56: Well, no updates on the WCAI Canada Facebook page for a while now since the WCAI hate group and supporters moved into the building for a group photo so I suppose the protest at City Hall is over:

Looks like 29 to 35 people.

Now the action moves to Fish Creek Park where they are having the festival portion of the MEGA Patriot Unity Festival.

Oh.... you didn't think that we didn't know where the second part of the WCAI event was taking place, did you? Ryan Dean has been most accommodating in providing the details concerning the after party.

This may be updated with information concerning THAT event later.