https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-border-protests-involve-a-far-right-extreme-organization-public-safety/
Border protests involve ‘a far-right extreme organization,’ Public Safety Minister Mendicino says
Bill Curry and Colin Freeze
"One of the body-armour vests seized by the RCMP in Alberta had a “Diagolon†patch on it – a reference to a fictional breakaway state stretching from Alaska to Florida. The notion of Diagolon is espoused by Jeremy MacKenzie, a former Canadian Forces soldier and Afghan war veteran who has become a radical far-right podcaster.
For the past two weeks, Mr. MacKenzie has been broadcasting videos on social media from Ottawa at the site of convoy protests.
One of the four men accused in the murder conspiracy in Alberta is Christopher Lysak. According to the Canadian Anti-Hate Network, Mr. Lysak is an associate of Mr. MacKenzie’s and was pictured beside him last year and has been referred to as Diagolon’s security chief.
“Diagolon is a concept that was coined by MacKenzie,†said Elizabeth Simons, deputy director of the Canadian Anti-Hate Network.
She said he and other podcasters gravitated to conversations about carving out an independent state through violence. Diagolon was considered a joke at first, before it took on a life of its own, she said, adding that discussions evolved into a cluster of social-media channels, offline networks of people and even a national anthem.
From Ottawa, Mr. MacKenzie has stated on his social-media platforms that that he has no knowledge of the alleged conspiracy in Coutts.
In past videos on social media, he has said that he left the military in 2017 and got into podcasting. “I was becoming very displeased with the direction the country was heading in that time and it has only accelerated rapidly since then.â€
Earlier this year, the RCMP charged Mr. MacKenzie with illegal weapons offences after a January raid in Nova Scotia. A search-warrant document alleges that Mr. MacKenzie brandished weaponry in a video posted to social media, including “an unpinned high-capacity magazine, a prohibited device.†He is to appear in a Nova Scotia court in May.
Border protests involve ‘a far-right extreme organization,’ Public Safety Minister Mendicino says
Bill Curry and Colin Freeze
"One of the body-armour vests seized by the RCMP in Alberta had a “Diagolon†patch on it – a reference to a fictional breakaway state stretching from Alaska to Florida. The notion of Diagolon is espoused by Jeremy MacKenzie, a former Canadian Forces soldier and Afghan war veteran who has become a radical far-right podcaster.
For the past two weeks, Mr. MacKenzie has been broadcasting videos on social media from Ottawa at the site of convoy protests.
One of the four men accused in the murder conspiracy in Alberta is Christopher Lysak. According to the Canadian Anti-Hate Network, Mr. Lysak is an associate of Mr. MacKenzie’s and was pictured beside him last year and has been referred to as Diagolon’s security chief.
“Diagolon is a concept that was coined by MacKenzie,†said Elizabeth Simons, deputy director of the Canadian Anti-Hate Network.
She said he and other podcasters gravitated to conversations about carving out an independent state through violence. Diagolon was considered a joke at first, before it took on a life of its own, she said, adding that discussions evolved into a cluster of social-media channels, offline networks of people and even a national anthem.
From Ottawa, Mr. MacKenzie has stated on his social-media platforms that that he has no knowledge of the alleged conspiracy in Coutts.
In past videos on social media, he has said that he left the military in 2017 and got into podcasting. “I was becoming very displeased with the direction the country was heading in that time and it has only accelerated rapidly since then.â€
Earlier this year, the RCMP charged Mr. MacKenzie with illegal weapons offences after a January raid in Nova Scotia. A search-warrant document alleges that Mr. MacKenzie brandished weaponry in a video posted to social media, including “an unpinned high-capacity magazine, a prohibited device.†He is to appear in a Nova Scotia court in May.
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