March 19 Anti-Muslim Rallies: Some Victories, Some Hard Lessons

By this point ARC readers know that any time we mention Kevin "The Chairman" Goudreau on the blog, it is probably because he did something profoundly stupid or embarrassing but isn't self aware enough to realize that this is the case:

Yep, the Goudreau held a rally in Peterborough while wearing an ill-fitted suit because he now wants to project gravitas.

Though really, to refer to what the Goudreau held as a rally is sort of like polishing a turd and calling it a diamond:

Still, despite holding his "rally" (word is they were there for less than 5 minutes) in what looks to my uneducated eye as a relatively empty street with few people to witness it, and what few people who did witness the event simply mocked him and his merry band of short bus passengers, the Goudreau appears to see it as a massive success and his first step towards his inevitable rise as der Kanadisch Führer:

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At least one person however, seemed to imply that the Goudreau was sort of gilding the lily:

That's right folks. There were more anti-Muslim rallies in select Canadian towns and cities this past week.

Kevin's explanation for the pathetic nature of his rally is flimsy at best, but it is telling in that he really believes (and is likely correct) that some of the kind of people who would attend a "White Pride" march would also be attracted to an anti-Muslim protest. It's sort of a Venn Diagram, but of hatred. For example, Goudreau has some prominent anti-Muslim activists amongst his own friends:

Brad Salzberg, the leader of the Cultural Action Party of Canada, isn't just anti-Muslim but is also anti-immigrant in general. He held a very small anti-Muslim protest in Vancouver this past Sunday. And Sara Smith is better known as Sandra Solomon, an especially vocal and virulent anti-Muslim protester associates with Eric Brazeau and Ron Banerjee; she was a key speaker at the anti-Muslim event that took place Sunday in Toronto.

When analyzing the anti-Muslim protests that took place this past Sunday, I think it is important to look not only at the victories scored by those who opposed the xenophobes and Islamophobes, but it is equally important to recognize that there were some setbacks.

Shooting at Mosque in Quebec City and Initial Islamophobic Reaction

Here is what is currently known.

The Centre Culturel Islamique de Quebec in Quebec City was attacked during evening prayers just before 8:00 pm (the same mosque was also targeted during the summer when a pig's head and anti-Muslim message was left at the building). The shooting took place on the ground level of the mosque where the men prayed while the women were in the level above. At this point we know of six people who have been killed with 19 injured, five critically. One suspect, Alexandre Bissonnette, is in custody and has been charged with 6 counts of murder. The second individual who had been named was a witness and not a suspect in the shooting. Bissonnette had contacted police after the shooting to turn himself in; initial reports suggested that there might have been explosives in the vehicle.

Bissonnette is a student at Laval University where his Facebook profile suggested he was studying anthropology though he may have transferred to political science. Also noted were some of the Bissonnette's "liked" pages which included Donald Trump, Marine Le Pen, Génération Nationale, and Parti Quebecois, though he is also a Katy Perry fan too:

A source close to this writer has found evidence that Bissonnette ran with an alt-right group at Laval University. He was associated with a man named Pascal Mercier-Lévesque who appears to have been a writer for GAUCHEDROITISTAN. The site is conveniently down for maintenance (wonder why?) but the Internet Archives have the site saved.

While apparently a loner who had a difficult adolescence, Bissonnette  was said to be xenophobic, misogynistic, and nationalistic by those who knew hims. He was active on social media and was somewhat of a troll harassing left-wing and progressive groups. One of those groups noted their familiarity with Bissonnette in a recent post:

We'll publish information as it becomes available.

Soon after the shooting took place we decided to check out the reaction to the shooting on the various Facebook groups we monitor. When we took these screen shots we knew a lot less about the incident than we do now, but lot of the folks on these sites seemed to think that the shooters were anti-Muslim.... and are really happy about it and hoped to see more shootings. Others suggested that it was a "false flag" operation to push for (a) gun control (b) legal prohibitions against negative speech about Islam. Others blamed Trudeau (some of whom hoped he would be targeted as well "next time"). And still other suggested sectarian violence, which again they were okay with so long as Muslims are killed.

We begin with the Canadian Anti Islam Force:

Charleston Killer Convicted on All Charges

While the victims and their families may have received justice, there are people who continue to celebrate the actions of the murderer just as they did when it occurred. That fact remains disquieting to say the least.

While this horrible event occurred in the United States, we will remind our readers of the Canadian connection:

• Updated: Charleston Killer and Racist Symbolism
• Paul Fromm: Council of Conservative Citizens Link to Charleston Killer
• Paul Fromm and the Council of Conservative Citizens: Canadian MSM Makes Connection
• Paulie Denied Entry Into United States

A Busy Weekend for Extremism in Calgary: Blood & Honour and "The Rebel"

This past weekend there were two Calgary events that caught our attention. In some ways they were a study in contrasts. One event was held on Saturday by a small, shadowy, group that has since 2012 shunned media attention. The other was held on Sunday by a relatively politically savvy group that, while claiming to revile the media, works very hard to capture the attention of that same media for fun and profit.

But while their methods in dealing with media attention might contrast, there are still a few similarities which is perhaps a bit ironic considering one is a hate group in Calgary run by a violent antisemite and the other is a media platform established by a prominent (though not widely respected) Jewish-Canadian which has been used to rile up Canadian and foment hatred.

On Saturday, Blood & Honour in Calgary held an event:

This was actually the latest in a number of events organized by Kyle McKee's B&H since 2013. Prior to 2013, McKee and co. were frequently in the news with their White Pride March which was for a while an annual annoyance. Though McKee might have been pleased with the notoriety in those cases, the other times he and his group were mentioned tended to result in rather unwanted attention by the police and frequently ended up with McKee and others finding themselves as guests of Her Majesty's hospitality for months and years at a time. But then charges of assault, vandalism, illegal possession of weapons, attempted murder, and murder will put a bit of a damper on one's desire to be famous.

But recently though, and after Trump's victory in the United States, it looks like Calgary's B&H has decided to make itself known again:

The above photo was taken at the Lion's Park LRT station around November 22. If one wishes to look at the silver lining of Trump's election victory in November based in part on stoking racial prejudices in some of his supporters is that the media is more willing to pay attention to hate groups whereas in the past they would be ignored as "fringe" and "irrelevant":

• White nationalist stickers appear at Calgary LRT station
• Calgary Positive posters duke it out with neo-Nazi stickers on Calgary Transit property

McKee (posing as "Freedom Fighter") appears to confirm on Stormfront that there will be more active recruitment by B&H in Calgary in the future:

What McKee doesn't seem to understand is that as he has grown increasingly arrogant concerning B&H and his belief that he's operating under the radar, he's also become very sloppy. 

We'll leave that there for Kyle to ponder.

Blood & Honour and like gangs are dangerous, though as we've always noted that their danger lies in how they target individuals and communities. That fact can't be discounted, but we've always written that gangs such as McKee's are ultimately not a danger to the social fabric of the country as a whole. Even in the post-truth era of Trump, that remains true in general. The real danger are individuals and groups that are able to stoke the fear of demographic and cultural change in the country and use that fear to create resentment and hatred which, if directed, could lead to violence.

That's where people like Ezra come in:

The previous weekend, Ezra Levant and "The Rebel" held an anti-carbon tax rally at the Edmonton legislature which sort of made national news when some of the folks in the crowd began the Trump inspired chant, "lock her up!" Chris Alexander was present then and was too spineless to say anything at the time, but bravely mentioned how uncomfortable he was with the chant when not with the angry mob. Others in politics and media did however condemn the chant, which prompted Levant criticize those conservative politicians who were critical of the mob-like chant that was only missing the pitchforks and torches....

.... and to double down on the chant:

Also not surprising, Ezra has decided to try to monetize the controversy by selling a t-shirt to people who he has suggested are financially hard done by the Alberta government:

Unlike boneheads, Ezra actually loves him some t-shirts. 

Ezra has tried to make the case that the crowd weren't really demanding the arrest and imprisonment of democratically elected politicians who are doing their job (whether or not people agree with the policies enacted by said politicians is an entirely different matter and the reason why we have elections, but that's another matter). No, these people are merely frustrated, non-violent, folk who are venting but who are not actually serious about subverting democracy. Any fool could see that, right?

If this is Ezra's argument, then he should perhaps let his follower know that they should play along:

Paulie Still Not Allowed into the United States

Last August we reported that Paulie had been denied entry into the United States, likely due to his leadership role in the Council of Conservative Citizens who's rhetoric inspired the murder who targeted members of an historic Black church in Charleston, SC.

Suffice it to say, Paulie feels aggrieved.

So rather than trying to fly into the United States, Paulie decided to try his luck driving down south.

Guess how that turned out?

Poor Paulie! When he urged countries to keep "undesirables" out of their respective (white) countries, he didn't mean himself. He meant people with a duskier skin color than he.

Man Assaulted by Finnish Neo-Nazi Group Linked to the Soldiers of Odin Dies

Our readers who have been following ARC's series on the Canadian branch of the Soldiers of Odin are aware that the group originated in Finland and was founded by Mike Ranta:

Prior to founding the Soldiers of Odin, Ranta, an avowed "White Nationalist" and neo-Nazi, was and still is a member of the Finnish Resistance Movement:

Ranta, who was convicted of a 2005 racially-motivated attack against two immigrants, admits readily to being a neo-Nazi — “Yes, I am” — but insists his ideology and membership in the Finnish Resistance Movement has nothing to do with the patrols. 

“Just because I am, as the founder or whatever, it doesn’t mean the whole group are (neo-Nazis)… We’re just a street patrol group, so why are people making it into something else?,” Ranta argued.

Since the publication of the above article, Ranta has been convicted of aggravated assault and given an 18 month suspended sentence for his attack on a man and woman.

Soldiers of Odin Canada, founded by Manitoba resident Joel Angott, was authorized by Ranta's original Finnish chapter to begin operations in Canada:

This past week, members of the Finnish Resistance Movement assaulted a man during a rally. That man later passed away as a result of his injuries:

FINNISH MAN DIES AFTER BEING ASSAULTED BY NEO-NAZISPosted on 17.9.2016 by mikael 

A Finnish man, Jimi Joonas Karttunen, that was assaulted by neo-Nazis from the Finnish Resistance Movement (FRM) Saturday the 10th of September has died of his injuries. The news was first given by his father Kauko-Vesa Karttunen in a Facebook post on Saturday and the identity of the man has since then been confirmed by other sources, including an old school friend that Kaivuri has talked to. The assault against the 28 year old Karttunen happened during a demonstration by FRM in the center of Helsinki. Karttunen was assaulted from the back by members of FRM and hit his head as he fell on the ground, after he had expressed his dissent to the protestors. 

What is clear so far is that the victim was hospitalised shortly after the attack due to severe head trauma and remained in intensive care for several days. He was released from the hospital on Thursday but began to suffer from intense headaches again on Friday and called the emergency services. When the emergency services arrived he had already lost consciousness and was proclaimed dead on Friday at 10 PM. 

FRM released a video of Karttunen lying on the ground next to a pool of blood on Sunday the 12th of September. In an accompanying text, the organization said they had to ‘discipline’ some people who challenged them, effectively confessing members of the group were behind the assault. Several pictures connected to the article show known members of the organization, giving an idea of which people were present. 

The police have, nonetheless, been reluctant comment on the events to mainstream media outlets (1,2,3,4) and refused to verify whether a causal relation between the death of Karttunen, but confirm that the case is under investigation. Meanwhile, in a post on their website, the Antifascist network Varis has connected names to the faces visible in the pictures published by FMR. Several of the whom have a record of violence against people of colour, queers and political opponents. 

Kaivuri will participate in all efforts to bring the attackers to justice and we will continue to update as the situation develops.

The FRM propaganda video of the aftermath can be seen at about 2:06:

Blast From The Past: Former Manitoba KKK Leader Murdered

We were recently notified that a man by the name of James Edsel Tucker was found dead in an apartment near the University of Winnipeg:

Suspect charged in Furby stabbing death
Posted: 06/24/2016 12:05 PM| Last Modified: 06/24/2016 12:38 PM | Updates

A suspect has been charged in the stabbing death of 45-year-old James Edsel Tucker on Thursday.

Tucker was discovered in a suite in the 400 block of Furby Street. He was rushed to hospital in critical condition.

In addition to second-degree murder, Martin Archie Flett, 22, faces several other charges.

The nature and number of other charges were not made public.

Tucker was stabbed in the upper body and sent to hospital in critical condition where he later died....

While "James Edsel" might not be familiar to our readers as he changed his name some years ago, our readers will perhaps be more familiar with the name he was born with and which he made infamous:

William (Bill) Harcus was the Grand Dragon of the Manitoba KKK, operating in Winnipeg and Gimli. He ran a 25-hour phone hotline disseminating hate propaganda which was eventually shut down. He, along with Joseph Lockhart and Theron Skryba were later prosecuted with inciting racial hatred and genocide, though the charges were stayed upon the revelation that the police officer based her testimony not on her own memory but on police wiretaps. Still, the infiltration by the Winnipeg police into the group resulted in its collapse.

Though Harcus soon disappeared, he was still a figure of some degree of reverence in the Canadian racist movement even 20 years later:

UPDATE: Stewart Bell pens a great article about Bill Harcus in today's "National Post."

June 2016 Bits and Bites: Paul Fromm, Robert Reitmeier, Tyler Sturrup, Canadians United 4 Canada, and Assault on Muslim Woman

A few things have occurred over the past few days that we figure warrant some discussion, though not necessarily stand alone posts.

First on the agenda is another example of Paulie having a bad day, which is generally a good day for most people. He was scheduled to give a speech in Victoria, however the manager contacted him to let Paulie know he was't welcome. Paulie accepted the news with the quiet dignity he is well known for:

Or he whined and claimed his free speech rights have been curtailed while presenting the event as an epic struggle for freedom of expression. I mean, either way, right?

Soldiers of Odin: 81 Problems and a Snitch Ain't One of Them

There are times when this writer is not only able to expose bigot to public scrutiny, but also indulge in a bit of historical geekery. Those are good days.

And this is one of those days.

When examining the Soldiers of Odin it is easy to focus exclusively on the rampant racism found amongst a number of individuals who are drawn to the group as well as the Islamophobia which is the Soldiers of Odin calling card. But it can be easy to miss the incredible hypocrisy of an organization ostensibly founded to protect "our" (read: white) women and children from the swarthy hordes at the gate:

Because sexual violence was NEVER a problem in Europe or Oz before Muslims arrived...

Then again, the misogynistic rhetoric of some members and supporters of the Soldiers of Odin sort of calls into question this claim:

Craig claims to be the Sergeant at Arms- Ontario East Division at Soldiers Of Odin Ontario

More on Arran Taylor later.

For an organization set up ostensibly to protect women, the Soldiers of Odin has a real image problem (again, that's besides the link to overt racists who are members of the SoO in good standing). That image problem begins with the name of the organization itself.

More MSM Focus on Far Right in Canada and Reaction to ARC Article

We noted at the end of January that some in the MSM were beginning to pay more attention to the threat posed by right wing extremism in the country.The Maclean's article in question focused specifically on those using social media to post virulently hateful and threatening anti-government and especially anti-Muslim/refugee rhetoric comments, many of which seemed to go beyond legally acceptable free expression. The reaction to the Maclean's article was swift and somewhat hypocritcal:

It seems that the folks who fee threatened by the article would apply different standards to those who disagree with them than they would apply to themselves.

On the one hand, they write this:

On the other? 

We could continue to discuss the irony of their complaints about stifled free speech at length, but we think we will just leave it at this for the time being.

One of the "hapless private Canadian citizens" profiled in the Maclean's article has also signed the petition and has encouraged others to do so as well:

 

We're guessing that Mr. Witko is the individual who was visited by the RCMP and who's "political views" the petition creator seems to intent on protecting.

Fine. Shall we take a look at some of those political views?

While taking pleasure in children dying certainly qualifies Witko as being a horrible example of humanity, it is likely protected as free expression (which isn't to say that he is also free from well justified condemnation).

These other recent posts, including two posted during the past few days? No, they are actually criminal in nature:

Posted in "Canadians Against Justin Trudeau."