Soldiers of Odin Canada: Falling Apart Already?

In one of the msm articles we linked to in a previous article, the following observation was made by at least one academic interviewed for the story:

Several academic researchers contacted in Canada had either not heard of Soldiers of Odin, or studied its presence in Canada. One researcher, who did not wish to be named, was not convinced the group had a serious presence.  

“We only have very patchy information that makes me think that this group is a very small one, and might be a fad,” said the researcher.

We received some emails that were somewhat critical of this assessment. For example, the Soldiers of Odin are found in most provinces now and have chapters in a number of towns and cities, so they can't at this point be considered to be, "very small." They are probably more widespread and have more members than hate groups that have been on our radar for years. On this point we and the critics are in agreement.

However, we might also be in agreement with the unnamed academic regarding his or her suggestion that the group, "might be a fad."

To clarify, we aren't suggesting that the Soldiers of Odin are a group that should be taken lightly and that the membership will eventually tire and move on to something else (though for some, this might happen). But there is a good chance that the SoO will tear itself apart from within, resulting in a scattered membership.

Case in point, they just cant seem to maintain a stable leadership structure:

Arran Taylor is, or was, the president of the Ontario chapter of the SoO. His removal from the SoO, as inferred by Saskatchewan SoO co-president David Tierney, was soon confirmed by the man himself and seems to be based on accusations of financial improprieties:

While Taylor might not be in the SoO anymore, he did imply in one of the above messages (to paraphrase) that the, "truth will out." He also may still have some friend in the SoO such as the national president Joel Agnott who is still friends with Taylor (at least on FB) and who posted the following message kicking another ranking member of the SoO Ontario chapter out of the group which met with Taylor's approval:

While Taylor, and now Paradis, might be the more high profile expulsions from the SoO, we can't help but notice that they are the continuation of a pattern that began almost at the inception of the Canadian branch.

Let's first take a look at the Saskatchewan chapter:

The SoO has been skittish about the media from pretty much the start of it's existence. Earlier this year they enacted rigid rules concerning speaking to the press, though those rules may no longer be enforced as they once were, if at all, since the msm is paying significantly more attention to their activities.

But this all brings us to the leadership of the Saskatchewan branch and the various city chapters:

Justin Reid WAS named the president of the Lloydminster chapter of the SoO, however it wasn't long before that promotion was kiboshed and Reid was out of the group for talking to the media without permission. An ugly exchange took place on Arran Taylor's (then Sargent at Arms of the Ontario Chapter) Facebook page between Taylor, Reid, SoO National President and founder Joel Agnott, Southern BC SoO President Krisopher Erickson, and Alberta President William Crotty concerning his expulsion:

More on Chris Styx can be found here

Crotty eventually took his frustrations to another page where he further complained about the situation in Lloydminster and the SoO membership in the community:

Ryan Sansom, so excited hat he would be visiting Lloydminster to chew bubble gum and kick ass, is the VP of the Saskatoon chapter of the SoO.

Or, I should perhaps write FORMER VP of the Saskatoon chapter as he to was eventually given the boot:

Brandon Graves was (there's that word again) the Saskatoon SoO Chapter President, but it doesn't seem that he was particularly organized:

We aren't sure of the reasons here either, but Graves found himself on the outside soon after as well:

Jesse James, also a leader in the Saskatchewan SoO, would find himself on the outs only a few days after posting his brief missive concerning Graves. However Saskatoon SoO Sargent at Arms James Magotiaux wasn't pleased with the authoritarian bent of the provincial leadership:

Right. Bike clubs are not for the SoO.

Uhm.....

• Soldiers of Odin: 81 Problems and a Snitch Ain't One of Them
• Soldiers of Odin: "Denies.... Links to.... Biker Gangs"

Moving over to British Columbia, at least the Southern Ontario branch of the SoO had been in constant turmoil for months and likely still is. Many of the posts consist of petty squabbling and a leadership constantly begging and threatening the membership to stop posting racist comments that make the group look bad:

But, didn't you already threaten, "the last straw" before?

Oh! This is the last FUCKING straw!

Well that changes everything. Please carry on.

As a brief aside, do these actually look like beards?

We digress however:

All this is fun and interesting, but really, the following shit storm concerning who -- and we're not kidding about this -- members should report to in the absence of local leadership sort of takes the prize:

By the way, at this point Bill Daniels was just an ordinary member and not yet president of the BC chapter of the SoO. More on that later.

A number of members continue to mention Bob Amour, VP of the Southern BC SoO chapter:

That's also not a thing anymore:

Taken from the Southern BC SoO Facebook page. Bob is no longer a member, and it occurred soon after this:

By the way, we love how Bill Daniels acts as Angott's hype man here:

Got to get the wording exactly right, we suppose.

Not too long after, Daniels was named the provincial president of the SoO in BC.

We guess he learned who's bread he should butter.

To sum up, though we do think that the Soldiers of Odin are a group that we need to keep an eye on, there is a very good chance that within 5 years they may not be as much of a concern if they continue to tear themselves apart from within, a common characteristic of most hate groups. Our concern then is where the members go? Do they move on with their lives or do they join or start other perhaps even more militant groups?

Time will tell the story.