The Canadian government on Friday added more American neo-Nazis to its list of banned terrorist groups, another sign that the country is going further than the United States when it comes to recognizing such white extremists as threats.
Tracking plugins Canada Set for Proud Boys and other far-right groups based in the United States as terrorists in February.
Newly banned groups include:
- The Three Percenters, an American anti-government group with a growing presence in Canada. group name According to the Anti-Defamation League, stems from the dubious historical claim that only 3% of American colonists fought against the British in the Revolutionary War. at most Six members The group was accused in the January 6 attack on the US Capitol. Citing material presented to reporters at a press conference, The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation said: The Canadian government has indicated the roles of two members of the plot to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer last year.
- James Mason, a Colorado-based neo-Nazi Called for solo actor attacks Against the US government to foment a white revolution. Mason also shared tactical instructions on how to run terrorist groups, and is the author of a 1980s pamphlet popular with extremists around the world. The Canadian government also noted Mason’s ties to the violent neo-Nazi group Atomofen Division, whose members were Linked to several killings.
- Aryan Strikeforce, a group of white extremists based in the United Kingdom with branches in Canada and the United States that advocates violence to overthrow governments and start a race war.
- A branch of the Islamic State, based in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Bill Blair, Canada’s Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, said in a statement statement Appointments are an important tool to help authorities keep abreast of evolving threats and global trends.
“Recent events should remove any doubt about the serious threat posed by ideologically motivated violent extremism,” Blair said. “Intolerance and hatred have no place in our society and the Government of Canada will continue to do everything in its power to keep Canadians safe from all threats, including terrorism and violent extremism.”
Designating a group or individual as a “terrorist entity” under Canadian federal law makes it illegal for people to join and cooperate with groups. It also gives the government the power to freeze the assets of people associated with the groups and prosecute anyone who supports them financially or financially. It can also make it easier for authorities to remove online content posted by banned extremists.
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In the aftermath of the January 6 attack on the US Capitol, Canada moved to designate four white far-right or extremist right-wing groups as terrorist entities, the first time such groups had been listed. Among them was the Atomofen, a neo-fascist street fighting group, the Proud Boys, the white supremacist. metronome Rule outfit, the Russian far-right imperial movement. Nearly two dozen people associated with the Proud Boys have been charged in the FBI’s investigation into the January 6 attack on the Capitol.
President Joe Biden said white supremacist violent extremists posed the most immediate threat to the United States today and called them “a disgrace to the soul of America.” Earlier this month, the White House released a file plan To combat domestic terrorism, which calls for strengthening analysts, prosecutors and agents, but does not suggest proposing any new laws to help.
The lack of specific laws defining domestic terrorism is one reason the United States has not gone further than Canada in designating American and foreign extremist groups as terrorist entities. Another is that the bar for such an appointment is very high. The United States has designated only one far-right group, the Russian imperialist movement, as a terrorist group.
In a call with BuzzFeed News and other reporters earlier this month, a senior Biden administration official, speaking in the background, said discussions about any new domestic terrorism laws were ongoing and no decisions had been made before the new White House plan was released.
“We concluded that we do not have the evidentiary basis, yet, to decide whether we want to go in that direction or whether we have sufficient authority as it currently exists at the federal level,” the official said.
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