Tuesday, March 21, 2023

Diagolon and Trolling: How To Minimize Platforming the Far-Right and Instead Provide Context

Over the years there has been a lot of discussion about the danger of platforming right wing extremists. It's an issue that I've wrestled with for years myself here on the blog and also on Twitter. On the one hand I've always believed that it was important to share information about could amount to a significant danger to the community; the best disinfectant is sunlight after all. 

But as I tried to expose those individuals and groups who could cause real harm, I also tried to do so in a way that didn't give them any sort of power. A lot of these individuals and groups WANT others to talk about them because uncritical examination allows the noxious beliefs to spread more widely.

In order to try to avoid that I generally employ two primary strategies. The first is mockery. The bigots and hate groups I covered have all been so very self-serious. Using humour as a means of disarming and showing how utterly ridiculous that they are while at the same time showing the public why we should also be concerned often took the wind out of their sails, so to speak.

Also, I'm naturally snarky so there's that too.

The second thing I do which I think is far more important is to try as best I can to provide the critical context for the stories I shared (hence why I was and continue to be verbose as hell) and to avoid telling the narrative that THEY want shared.

So with that, let's engage go through that process by discussing the critical context behind this still I took from a video posted by Derek Harrison of the Plaid Army/Diagolon on his Telegram page:

Shane Marshall and Pierre Poilievre

This photo shows Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre shaking hands with Shane Marshall. If the name "Shane Marshall" is familiar at all, it is likely because of an incident that occurred during the 2021 federal election where Marshall threw pebbles at Prime Minister Justin Trudeau:

Earlier this month, Marshall pleaded guilty to common assault (he had originally been charged with assault with a weapon). The video taken of him shaking hands with Poilievre occurred prior to Marshall's trial where he pled guilty on the first day.

Marshall is also a figure who has been covered by the Canadian Anti-Hate Network for his ties to the overtly racist Canada First and the accelerationist Diagolon:
Marshall was among those who attended the occupation in Ottawa in February 2022 where he was both photographed with then Canada First leader Tyler Russell (who now lives in the United States and runs with Nick Fuentes) and Diagolon de facto leader Jeremy MacKenzie:

Marshall and Tyler Russell left; Russell and Nick Fuentes right


Marshall and Russell with Jeremy MacKenzie during
the "Freedom Convoy" occupation of Ottawa, 2022

Marshall was also briefly detained in Ottawa during the occupation.

So when one looks at this photo of Shane Marshall and Pierre Poilievre, one's first instinct might be to suggest this is proof that Poilievre is courting far right extremists. Without any other context and, given Mr. Poilievre's own dog whistles since becoming leader, that might be a reasonable conclusion... EXCEPT that the context here is critical to understanding what we are actually seeing.

I found the video from which the still is taken on Derek Harrison's Telegram page. Harrison is someone who has been profiled here on the blog a number of times -- I first came across Harrison when he was volunteering for white nationalist Faith Goldy's mayoral campaign -- and he is, I guess, a sort of founding father of the Plaid Army and Diagolon. Harrison's antisemitism, Islamophobia, homophobia, and anti-immigrant rhetoric is well know to people who study this ecosystem.

Harrison and other Dags attended Marshall's trial in support. Suffice to say that it doesn't seem that any of them are especially contrite:

Shane has all the charisma of a soggy phonebook from 1992.

Marshall and Derek Harrison flanked by two unknown Dags.


The context of the video still with Marshall, a former PPC riding president who was working on Chelsea Hillier's campaign and an associate of Diagolon (many of whose members are supporters of the PPC and Bernier), and Pierre Poilievre who is the leader of a rival conservative political party is very important however:

Pictured from left to right: Derek Harrison, Maxine Bernier, Chelsea Hillier, and Tyler Russell

MacKenzie, Bernier, Harrison

Diagolon in general and in this case Harrison specifically loathe the Conservative Party, claiming that the CPC and the Liberals are simply two sides of the same corrupt, globalist, coin:

Saturday, March 18, 2023

Neo-Nazi Kevin Goudreau is a Symptom of a Larger Problem

Those of you how have followed the blog for years know that Kevin Goudreau, a neo-Nazi active now for more than 30 years, has been covered on these pages mostly in the spirit of how he deserves to be treated.

As a joke whom even other right wing extremists who know him reject.

For example, here are some of his more recent attempts to present himself as a leader in the movement which he thinks make him appear tough and intimidating but which are in fact so cringe that even I am embarrassed for him:


I've strung together some of the YouTube short he has put out where he throws out cliché lines about being "based" and "red pilled" as well as his boilerplate "14 words" schtick.

I might also note that he has taken to couching his bigotry in religion which is sort of a new thing for him:

This one I kept separate as because receiving any advice from Kevin Goudreau about health matters is so deliciously ironic and hilarious.

But though he is a joke, Goudreau still represents a danger of sorts that needs to be taken seriously.

Certainly he is a danger to individuals. While he is ultimately a coward who only targets people who he perceives as being physically weaker than he is, he has a history of assault arrests as well as uttering threats:


He has also engaged in targeted harassment, most recently (at least to my knowledge) targeting a lesbian couple who lived in his apartment block:

Peterborough police charge neo-Nazi Kevin Goudreau in hate bias crime

Goudreau in fact has historically directed some of his most venomous hatred towards the LGBTQ community:


So then it shouldn't be at all surprising that Kevin Goudreau has jumped onto the anti-drag story time/anti-trans bandwagon as he attended a protest at a Peterborough library this morning:

 

Sunday, January 08, 2023

Bolsonaro Supporters Storm Government Buildings: Some Reaction from Canadian Far-Right

This past Friday was the second anniversary of the storming of the Capitol Building in Washington D.C. but supporters of former president Donald Trump. By this point we know the story. Trump refused to acknowledge his defeat and in fact claimed he was the victim of election fraud perpetrated by his political enemies. Never mind that two of the four states he claimed were stolen were wholly governed by his Republican allies and despite information that has come to light that he himself didn't believe the election was stolen, Trump's "Big Lie" resulted in a concerted effort by his proxies and supporters to overturn the election which culminated in an actual insurrection.

That Trump denied the election shouldn't be a surprise since he also claimed fraud when he lost to Ted Cruz in the 2016 Iowa Caucuses:




Trump's Canadian supporters also pushed the narrative and were fully onboard when "the patriots" stormed the Capitol:







On January 8, 2023, a very similar scenario played out in Brazil and supporters of the far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro who lost the presidency in a runoff with Lula da Silva stormed Brazil's Congress, Supreme Court, and presidential palace: Like Trump, Bolsonaro had also claimed that an election loss would be the result of election fraud. And like Trump Bolsonaro's claims were amplified by the same forces who were instrumental in the lead up to and actions during January 6. Steve Bannon in fact commented set the ground work for what happened in Brazil back in November: Today, Bannon referred to the Brazilian insurrectionists as "freedom fighters":
Bolsonaro  himself eventually released a statement on Twitter where he both appears to criticize the actions of his supporters while also taking a swipe at the new president:




At the end of January and well into February 2022, Canada had it's own antigovernmental event in Ottawa on Parliament Hill as those who were ostensibly opposed to mask mandates and vaccinations occupied the city of Ottawa for nearly a month. Thankfully the events of those weeks were not on par with what happened in Washington DC on January 6, 2021 or Brasilia on January 8, 2023, but that wasn't necessarily due to a lack of desire, at least for some people such as Diagolon's Derek Harrison:


So it shouldn't be a surprise when people like Diagolon's Alex Vriend (Ferryman's Toll) celebrate today's events in the Brazilian capital:

Sunday, December 18, 2022

A Deep Dive into WLM Toronto Member Andrew Benson

This past July I was doxxed.


Well, not really.

You see I had actually been doxxed in January 2020, but WLM Toronto appeared to have believed they got a "W" on this.


You have probably seen WLM flyers posted in a number of cities in Canada and the United States at this point. The movement wants people to believe they are a significant group but the reality, with a few exceptions, is that most cells are composed of no more than half a dozen to a dozen members who bravely hide their faces because, you know, they are really proud of what they do.

WLM Toronto is perhaps one of the more pathetic cells in North America as illustrated what they believe to be successful events:



This is just sad!

Saturday, November 26, 2022

Nazi Flag and Claims of "False Flags": Brendan Miller's Accusations Amplified By Extremists and Conspiracy Promoters

I've been holding off on this but I thought I would provide some commentary on an incident that occurred during the Emergency Act inquiry (POEC) early this past week.

First though, I'm going to talk about Ray Epps and why Canadian right-wing extremists and conspiracy believers are talking about him now:



Ray Epps is an American conservative and Trump supporter who was at the Capitol on January 6 during the insurrection and attempted overturning of the presidential election results. In a video he was seen urging people to enter the Capitol. Since then the conspiracy theorists have claimed with no proof that Epps was in fact a "deep state" agitator who wanted to discredit the efforts of the Trump supporters on that day and not, as is true, an elderly Trump supporter whose life is now in turmoil as a result of the accusation against him (including by Trump himself). 

It doesn't matter how ridiculous the claim is; Epps was a single person in a sea of humanity and if you're going to suggest that crowd had to be convinced by one old man to storm the Capitol then there are many bridges in many Brooklyns I would like to sell you. This story fits a narrative and no amount of proof will convince the true believers otherwise.

So with that, let's get to the story, shall we?

Prior to the incident I will be writing about, the big news emerging from the inquiry was that CSIS had advised that the Prime Minister invoke the Emergency Act in response to the occupation in Ottawa and the border blockades in BC, Alberta, Manitoba, and Ontario. 

I wrote as a bit of an aside I wrote extensively about the occupation and border blockades at the time:

However soon a lawyer representing the "Freedom Convoy" made a bombshell claim in which he implicated an executive with Enterprise Canada in an incident that occurred in the early days of the occupation. Brendan Miller suggested this executive, who he accused of carrying a Nazi flag, was a "Liberal plant" who was sent by the government in an effort to discredit the soon-to-be occupiers of the city of Ottawa.
Miller's demand to order the executive as well as two others was ultimately dismissed as a fishing expedition, but the one witness that Miller wanted whom he claimed to have identified the executive in Ottawa is of some interest:
Shawn Folkes was one of the attendees of the "Freedom Convoy" occupation on Ottawa and early on claimed to have spoken to the person carrying the flag:


It would appear that Brendan Miller put in all his eggs into the basket that is Shawn Folkes, a person who posted things like this during the occupation:

But is worse than even just that:
So this appears to be the evidence that Brendan Miller went with to help prove the Liberal government set up otherwise peaceful protesters, he word of a man who not only threatened violence against those who opposed the occupation but also who happened to "remember" the person the same day Miller would subsequently claim the executive was the one with the Nazi flag.

But it was all enough to convince the many right-wing extremists, conspiracy theory promoters, and hard-core anti-government folks as it confirmed their particular biases. Among those who accepted the truth of Miller's accusations with absolutely no question were mayor Jay Riedel (yeah, he is an actual mayor) who at one time worked with Pat King on the United We Roll convoy to Ottawa that was tied to the Yellow Vest movement and Wayne Peters, a conspiracy promoter associated with the Yellow Vests, Pegida Canada, and the Canadian Nationalist Party among other right-wing extremist groups who claims that all the people who received the Covid vaccine will be dead within 5 years:


But it wasn't just these folks who ran with Miller's claim as gospel truth.

Sunday, November 20, 2022

A Look Back at Diagolon and the Ottawa Occupation: A Teaser

I have an article that I'll be working on focused on the events in Ottawa during the "Trucker Convoy" of which there were few actual truckers participating. Those who follow/followed me on Twitter will remember that I wrote extensively about the event while it was ongoing from the start to finish.

The tweet posted above highlights the days and weeks of tweets that I made covering the story at the time.

I also created two other threads more recently touching on Pat King's claims made during the Ottawa Occupation that he made during his appearance before the Public Order Emergency Commission hearing:
However, I thought that I would also focus on another group who was there as well by providing another timeline:

Friday, November 18, 2022

I Guess This Should Be Considered A Countdown

Well!

After nearly two years and with the perhaps imminent demise of Twitter, I figure it might just be time to dust off space off, give it a little renovation, and get back to work.

But I certainly will not be alone in this particular venture. I have a few other writers lined up already to help with the work.

So with that, watch this space. :)



Monday, November 30, 2020

November 30, 2007 - November 30, 2020: Good Bye (For Now) and Thank You From Kurt and the Other Past and Present Writers of ARC

What I hope is at least a slightly more flattering photo than the one Keean Bexte used in his story
about me back in January, though to be fair I would have done the same to him (and did do... often).

Though I haven't been back since January I thought I would do so for one last article on the blog. It only seems right that I finish what I began.

Thirteen years ago today, I started Anti-Racist Canada on Blogger, though I didn't quite START Anti-Racist Canada ON Blogger:


Yeah, that's right. Live Journal. I really was a 31 year old boomer and, given the aesthetic of the blog, it is clear my technological prowess really never did advance much further than learning enough HTML coding to be able to center Tweets once I started to embed them in articles.

As inauspicious as the beginning was and with no promotion to speak of, Anti-Racist Canada persisted. The readership steadily grew organically over the years and it wasn't long before ARC became the "must read" site for anyone interested in learning more about the racist movement in the country. Our readers included a range of groups and individuals including activists and community leaders, law enforcement, politicians, and journalists. 

Oh, and the racists were regular readers themselves of course as they were always especially interested in what their rivals were up to.

That reality served an important purpose. Knowing the factionalism and infighting that is endemic in these movements, I did everything I could to highlight the fault lines and to widen those cracks until a collapse occurred which, more often than not, did occur. I wish I could say that this was all part of my Machiavellian genius but in reality it was incredibly easy to cause rifts then as it still is now; the hate groups and individuals in them might change, but the underlying character flaws have always been consistent. In any case I figured that it was better if they fought amongst themselves than targeting other innocent potential victims. 

I was always wary of platforming hate groups and tried to walk a line that would not result in me promoting them but rather would provide what I hoped would be useful information on who these people were, what they were about, and the threats they represented. I did that in large part by using humour when appropriate to illustrate that, while certainly dangerous, the individuals and groups that were discussed on these pages were essentially buffoons who deserve ridicule. Again, being snarky wasn't particularly challenging given the ample subject matter and included (but was certainly not limited to) the following themes:
But while I used humour to ridicule, I always took the work very seriously. These people and groups represented a real danger to our communities. Many have been convicted of incredibly serious crimes -- assault, arson, attempted murder, and murder -- largely the result of a noxious ideology that caused them view other humans as lesser and thus not worthy.

Over the years ARC was successful in breaking a number of important stories that eventually made their way to the national news. Rarely was ARC credited (though there were those in the media who did) and I was often asked if that bothered me. It probably should have, but it honestly never did. My main focus was on getting the information out to the public as a warning that these individuals and groups were, and are, dangerous. If the much larger msm found my little spot on the Internet and used it as a source, then I was happy that the audience would be much wider for what I considered to be an important story and I couldn't care less if people knew where it originated. I said then as I do now that when it came to this work, I had no ego.

That however wasn't entirely true.

My ego manifested itself in two different ways. First, having done the work for years in anonymity I began to believe that I was pretty much untouchable. I was always incredibly careful about my online security and was pretty confident that I would be able to maintain my anonymity. I provided a number of false leads that sent those trying to find out who I was on wild goose chases for years; my gender, age, and name ("Chris" for "Christopher Lee" of course). 

Now I never thought that it would be impossible for me to be doxxed, but I was sure I could deal with it because I was prepared for scenarios A,B,C,D,E, and F. Unfortunately I was NOT prepared for scenario G. I won't go into the details of that particular betrayal, but in the end it has been more a relief than anything as the person who had been hanging that particular Sword of Damocles over me for almost 5 years by that point had lost any real power over me as a result of their decision. At this point I'm now more disappointed that everyone knows I'm a simple, rural, humanities teacher and no longer the boogeyman that haunted their dreams. I mean, what a let down that has to be, eh?

The other way my ego manifested itself was more serious. Over the years I was able to do the work with some degree of detachment. Despite all the horrible things I researched and published, the assaults, threats, murders, etc, I was able to go to sleep knowing that it could never get to me and that I was mentally and emotionally too strong for these evil people to really get to me.

That is until I wasn't.

Even the strongest block of granite will weather after a time and that happened to me. My sleep became erratic and fitful and the only dreams I could remember were nightmares. I would fall into months long depressions. Relationships were negatively affected. I couldn't find the joy in things and experiences that I had before. I still believed the work was necessary, but I had become bitter and resented the sacrifices I felt I had made. I began to chafe at even mild (and often deserved) criticism. I was totally burnt out but I tried to push ahead anyways.

This all really started in late 2014 and continued to November 2016 as can be seen in the steep drop-off in articles written. With the uptick in far-right extremism on the rise during the 2016 presidential race in the United States which was also seeping up into Canada, I decided to stick it out until Donald Trump's inevitable defeat which I thought would spell the end of what would be an intense but relatively short-lived form of fascism known as Trumpism. Then I would step away knowing that I had left it all on the field so to speak.


As I didn't think it was right for me to leave the field of battle when Canada and, really, the world was facing what I thought would be an incredibly dark period where a racist right was now energized and seemingly on the ascendancy, I continued. It was also during this time that I think I wrote some of the most important and defining articles for ARC including, but not limited to, the following:
It was also during this time that the good folks from Yellow Vests Canada Exposed and BloodRayne (who eventually became the fourth member of YVCE) came on board as regular writers and soon full members of what had finally become a real collective. I am incredibly proud of the work that was done during this period and the friendships made with an incredible group of people. When I decided to step away from the blog I knew I was leaving it in very good hands and they continued to do incredible work.

All that being said though, we are all very tired. We all have other projects and no one is really able to devote as much time to the blog as we would like while also maintaining careers, families, and our other anti-racist work. As such I, as the founder of Anti-Racist Canada, have made the decision to end the project in its current form. The decision to do this wasn't easy, but it has been made easier by the fact that so many others have taken up the cause and are doing spectacular investigative work.

As readers know I'm now a board member of the Canadian Anti-Hate Network which I have to admit being proud that ARC sort of inspired the creation of. We have always punched above our weight, but with the recent BMO donation of $250,000 and government grant of around $270,000 we have been able to hire and incredibly talented team of journalists and educators who are already making an enormous contribution to the fight against bigotry and hatred. The members of YVCE are all also continuing the work, each in their own way, and I will continue to post the occasional snark-filled thread on Twitter (please feel free to follow me there if you are not doing so now) so none of us are really leaving.

But we aren't the only ones. Others over the years have taken up the fight and have done amazing work. I want to thank those groups and individuals for carrying on the fight. Knowing so many others are doing what they can to oppose racism, antisemitism, Islamophobia, misogyny, anti-LGBTQ+, and all other forms of bigotry, it does assure me that my decision to conclude this particular project is correct.

However...

I DO reserve the right to come back should Anti-Racist Canada be needed again. 

There have been a number of people who made the blog a possibility. First there are the early writers Naberius200, norton200, and especially NomDeGuerre200 who envisioned and began what I still think is the most important article published by ARC. There are also the guest writers who contributed articles to the blog over the years that were very well received by readers. Finally there are my wonderful friends with YVCE -- "Liz", "Tony", "Alan", and "Blood" -- who kindly took over after I left the blog in their very capable hands. 

I would also be remiss if I didn't thank Strike Poster for creating a new banner and logo for ARC. We had intended to migrate the blog to a new platform that would give us more control of our content and to unveil them at that time. Obviously those plans have changed so instead they will be displayed now.

Anti-Racist Canada will remain online as a resource. It is a project that I am very proud to have been involved with and I hope that it will remain useful well into the future.

So with that, good bye and as always, don't give away the homeworld.

                                                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                                            ~ Kurt Phillips (aka Nosferatu200)



Monday, November 16, 2020

Pro-Terror Neo-Nazi Attending Toronto Anti-Lockdown Protests

Toronto has been a focal point for protests against mask wearing during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as against government lock downs. It's also been a hot spot for new COVID cases which I'm sure is just a coincidence, but I digress. 

We have covered the Toronto COVID protests on the blog before, which focused on some of the far-right patriots and neo-Nazis that were attending, as well as some of the racist/Islamphobic social media history of prominent anti-masker Chris Saccoccia.

Some of the far-right attendees of Toronto anti-mask protests include neo-Nazis Tomas Liko and Paul Fromm,  hate rag Your Ward News editor James Sears, Toronto agitator Lily, Chris Vanderweide and Leigh Stuart, and anti-muslim vlogger Kevin Johnston

Fringe extreme right involvement is not limited to Toronto. Some of the Vancouver rallies were partially organized by neo-Nazi Brian Ruhe. Antisemitic Holocaust denier David Icke spoke at a Vancouver rally on October 17 and 18. 

Recently we discovered that someone who subscribes to a far more alarming neo-Nazi belief system has been attending COVID rallies in Toronto and is tied to at least one organizer. The unfortunately named Michael Bolton has used multiple social media platforms to express his support for neo-Nazism, including the accelerationist network Atomwaffen Division.

Background photo is the logo of the Oswald Mosley's British Union of Fascists



Facebook description mentions the Boogaloo movement



Bolton regularly expresses support for Atomwaffen, a violent neo-Nazi accelerationist organization which originated on the Iron March forum. Northern Order is a Canadian-based cell of Atomwaffen. 1488 is of course a reference to the white supremacist 14 words and 88 is code for Heil Hitler.

It isn't clear whether Bolton is or was a member of Northern Order, though he has posted about the group favourably: 




Mike Bolton interviewed by David Menzies of The Rebel at an anti-mask rally. Mother Joanne MacFarlane on the left and one of his brothers on the right.  


Mike comes from what one could easily described as a right-wing family. Members of his family post far-right content on Facebook including support for QAnon and The Proud Boys, but not going so far as showing support for neo-Nazism, though the majority don't seem bothered by Bolton's views. Their trips to anti-mask rallies are clearly a family outing. 

His mother, Joanne MacFarland, and his father, Dave Bolton, as well as siblings Andrew and Colin all attend the rallies with Bolton. 


Bolton's family members en route to a rally from Newmarket, ON 

Maxime Bernier posing with three members of the Bolton family; Andrew and Colin in the back

Bolton's father Dave Bolton

Dave Bolton regularly reposts fringe right content, including posts supportive of the Proud Boys, an extremist, violent group which, after the election, descended on Washington, DC and attacked people at the so-called Million MAGA March. 


Bolton has also shared QAnon propaganda: 


Bolton's mother Joanne has posted anti-LGBTQ+ and antisemitic content, as well as support for the violent Proud Boys:  



And posts supporting violence against their political opposition: 


Including memes referencing Pinochet -- the Chilean dictator who became infamous for his men throwing communists from helicopters. 


Mike's brother Andrew Bolton also being interviewed by David Menzies of The Rebel


Mike's brother Colin Bolton , pictured on his Facebook with Chris Saccoccia


In such a far-right wing family it's not surprising that at least one of them has turned to overt neo-Nazi beliefs. That said Mike's social media use is much more concerning than what can easily be found from the others. 

"Day of the Rake," a play on "Day of the Rope," referencing when the US will invade Canada 

Holocaust denial posted by Mike Bolton



Bolton's Gab account, showing violent antisemitic content 

Bolton's Gab, referencing support for both the Yellow Vests and Killdozer, who has become a far-right meme

Bolton's Minds account

What is interesting about Mike Bolton's Facebook account, is that he's friends with a few other anti-maskers, one of whom is an administrator and organizer for MAD (Mother's Against Distancing) the group started by Chris Saccoccia

Omari Taylor is very involved in Toronto's anti-mask events. Strangely enough Mike Bolton is not his only neo-Nazi friend on Facebook.

Gus Stefanis was a candidate for the neo-Nazi Canadian Nationalist Party and Lily Musa (AKA Peter Smith) is a supporter.

Even when Omari was shown evidence for past racist comments made by Chris Saccoccia he chose to downplay and ignore them.


These comments were made on an anti-mask spoof page

I'm not one to judge who someone calls a friend, but would it be out of line to suggest that maybe it's not in Omari's best interest to be surrounding himself with so many neo-Nazis?



His call I suppose.