Alberta III%

Yep, I'm still away and hopefully stretched out on a beach enjoying a Cuba Libre, though given my constitution more than likely laid up in a hotel room regretting not getting that Dukoral booster with a sunburn so bad you could roast a marshmallow using the heat radiating off my body. Either way, here is another now likely out-of-date article scheduled to publish while I'm away.

In a week from today, the Canadian Combat Coalition is planning on holding an event in Edmonton with the Worldwide Coalition Against Islam in attendance as well:

You were never fooling anyone with that name, Ryan.

I'm sure everyone is waiting with bated breath to hear the oratory of one Joey DeLuca

Given the disaster that the June 24 June 25 MEGA Patriot Rally turned out to be, this might be perceived as an effort to save the CCC and WCAI reputation as actual significant players on the far-right anti-Muslim/refugee/immigrant scene. Certainly Ryan Dean and Joey DeLuca would like to return to the numbers that participated in the June 3 rally which was in large part bolstered by the presence of III% Alberta members who provided security.... and were carrying weapons, btw. The III% members didn't participate in the MEGA rally ostensibly because of "security concerns" when the mayor of Calgary and Muslim student groups were invited by Garvey, however the head of the Alberta III% militia suggests another possible reason:

First, Beau Welling seems just a wee bit full of himself and the capabilities of the III% militia.

Second, even he seems to recognize that the CCC and WCAI are in fact hate groups. In this reply he does seem to be at pains to separate the III% Alberta militia from other groups. He also posted a message claiming to have spoken to the RCMP whom he claims doesn't regard the III% militia as a hate group:

Oh, not a "pure hate group."

Well that is certainly reassuring.

If such a conversation did take place, I'm guessing that Beau is either gilding the lily or really didn't understand the nature of the discussion because given the rhetoric of the membership, the III% would absolutely be on the radar of the RCMP.

At the beginning of July ARC published an article discussing the decline of the Soldiers of Odin and how the membership is drifting into other, perhaps even more extreme, movements. This fella who was (and may still be) in an SoO leadership position is a case in point:

Also, last month Mack Lamoureux wrote an article for "Vice" detailing a months long investigation into the III% movement, focusing specifically on the Alberta chapter which appears to be the most active as well as a sit down interview with Beau Welling. The article indicates the III% militia is a deeply paranoid, anti-Muslim group that readily accepts any conspiracy theory that confirms their biases. This may be somewhat of a concern under normal circumstances, but add the stockpiling of weapons for a future civil war and the "monitoring" of those citizens they consider to be un-Canadian, well, the danger meter is sort of dialed to 11.

First, let's take a look at the claim that they aren't racists. As of the writing of this article, the New Democratic Party is in the midst of a leadership campaign. One of the candidates is Jagmeet Singh, a Canadian-born Sikh (and a much better dresser than I am). The presence of Singh, who again I stress was born in Canada, was commented on by at least some III% supporters:

Well, maybe their antipathy was directed more towards the NDP, though I somehow doubt that is the whole reason.

One thing that is crystal clear though is the III% Alberta hatred of Muslims. Here are but a few of the posts that illustrate that:

There's also the anti-Muslim conspiracy theories that get trotted out with frequency:

They also seem to attract a few people who are.... shall we say questionable?

Well Evert, Thomas Trenerry certainly didn't stand alone when the Aryan Guard was a going concern:

Trenerry's involvement in the III% militia actually brings me to the other reason why the RCMP would be keeping an eye on the III% militia. Even if the racism and Islamophobia was not present, the III% militia would be a concern due to their anti-government position that is often (hell, usually) violent in nature, at least rhetorically speaking:

Again, the following is merely a Whitman's Sampler of anti-government rhetoric from III% supporters on the Alberta Facebook, national, and other provincial Facebook groups, much of which is directed at the current Prime Minister and would probably constitute a crime:

And then there is there is how they monitor people. Not just the Muslims, as was evident in the Vice article, but also their ideological opponents:

Not Jason, or Bonnie, or Andy,  or Shane,  or Marcell, or Syed, or Leah,  or Julian, or Richard, or Charles, or Grace, or Martin, or Alan, or "two brothers in Calgary," or any of the other people that have been erroneously listed as writers of the blog.  Some of the names aren't even ones I recognize as activists. It has been almost a decade and you still have yet to get it right. Then again why listen to me now when you haven't so far?

Really, you people are very bad at this.

Don't think that being a bystander gets you off the hook. Not showing the requisite amount of patriotism for a III% supporter might be enough to put you or, as in this case, your neighborhood on the list:

When reading posts such as these, I can't help thinking of the line from Alan Moore's groundbreaking comic series:

Who watches the watchmen?

Soldiers of Odin: A Spent Force But Members and Former Members Still Potential Danger

This article is scheduled to be published automatically on July 1. The writer for ARC will not be available that day because there are bbq hamburgers, beaver tails, and beers that need to be consumed.

A little over two weeks ago, the Soldiers of Odin in BC were present at a protest outside a mosque in Surrey. Whether or not they were the primary organizers of the protest or if they were simply participants -- members have been attending other anti-Muslim events organized by other individuals wearing their SoO "gear" -- isn't clear from the news article. Still it was one of the more visible actions taken by the British Columbia SoO for some time.

As mentioned elsewhere on the blog, the SoO seems to be in decline and is hemorrhaging both members and entire chapters. This is also the conclusion of others who have been studying the rise and fall of the anti-Muslim gang as stated by Yannick Veilleux-Lepage, researcher at the Handa Centre for the Study of Terrorism and Political Violence at the University of St Andrews, in an article about the gang by Stewart Bell:

Soldiers of Odin "not afraid to use violence," says intel report that raises concerns about targeting of immigrants. https://t.co/DzK587Fpsz

— Stewart Bell (@StewartBellNP) June 28, 2017

“They’re starting to look like a spent force,” he said. Together with Emil Archambault of Durham University, Veilleux-Lepage identified 265 Canadians associated with the Soldiers of Odin. But many have jumped to join other organizations in the past two to three months, he said.

That latter part mentioning members joining other organizations is one that will be addressed briefly in this article and in more detail in a future article.

However, despite the decline, the gang does remain a threat and was certainly seen as a threat by the Canada Border Services Agency in 2016 when the gang was was increasing in size and the number of chapters across the country:

“Members of the SOO are generally Caucasian males between the ages of 20 and 40 who adhere to right-wing politics and ideology — some members adhere to extreme right-wing ideology and are not afraid to use violence to achieve objectives,” the CBSA report said.....The one-page report was dated April 2016 but was only recently released under the Access to Information Act. Since it was written, the Canadian SOO franchises have succumbed to infighting and some have shut down.

Now given the collapse of the SoO, this may all seem a bit dated. But the danger this group still presents is perhaps most evident by studying the collapse.

Prior to Bill Daniels taking over the national SoO in an apparent coup and rejecting links with the Finnish parent chapter (more on this later), there had been a number of high profile defections from the SoO, both individuals and entire provincial chapters, that ARC has detailed on these pages. In Alberta, one incident ARC didn't cover was especially ugly and included numerous examples where both sides threatened violent retribution.

Bryan "SOO" was at one time a prominent member of the Alberta chapter of the SoO, but in March he was kicked out of the group based on claims that he had engaged in behavior that wasn't appropriate and demanded the return of his SoO "gear" and patches.. Whether the claims made by the SoO leadership were true or not, Bryan decided to respond in a manner that was considered very provocative:

The reaction to this from then active SoO members, including SoO Finnish founder and neo-Nazi Mika Ranta, was swift as Bryan burnt his gear live:

WCAI Islamophobic "Mega" Rally May Have Been Self-Quelled

An alternative title for this article could be "Everyone I Don't Agree With Is Funded By George Soros."

In one week, the MASSIVE and GAME CHANGING rally MEGA RALLY is set to take place somewhere in Calgary, though the Worldwide Coalition Against Islam (WCAI) and Canadian Combat Coalition (CCC) who are organizing it have been rather squirrely about releasing the actual location of the venue.... though ARC and others following the pratfalls of Joey DeLuca and his merry band of stooges have known the location for at least a month.

And they are super excited because there will be live bands and a bouncy castle and really big name speakers and a pig roast and 100,000 Americans coming and none of those icky Muslims will be there to ruin their fun!

However, there does seem to be a bit of a sticky wicket, in that they are still looking for bands to play and money to actually fund the event:

Joey isn't the only one trying to get in some last minute fund raising to actually make this event work:

Stephen Garvey of the National Advancement Party of Canada has been a long time ally of DeLuca and the WCAI. He has spoken at events attended by WCAI members and supporters, including the recent protests outside a Red Deer high school; he and DeLuca carpooled from Calgary in fact. DeLuca, who in a post rejected the more mainstream Conservative Party of Canada in favor of the future political juggernaut that is the NAPC, was also very appreciative of Garvey's support when the media (and ARC) made fun of the WCAI:

DeLuca also included Garvey as one of the supporters of the June 24 MEGA RALLY!!!! (sorry, but every time I read the hyperbolic claims about this event I can't help think of monster truck rallies minus the class and dignity):

DeLuca's inclusion of the NAPC seems to be more than just a courtesy, as Garvey may have been the one to secure a venue where the event was to take place:

Yeah, they tried to claim that this was an anti-racism event.

Cute.

In any case, even if the June 24 event turns out to be a disaster, at least the strong, unshakable, bond that has developed between DeLuca and Garvey will remain.

Right?

Oh oh....

This doesn't bode well.

Racist WCAI Members Don't Like Being Called Racists

Today a report was released detailing a significant rise in hate crimes against Muslim-Canadians across the country in 2015 according to Stats Canada:

The number of police-reported hate crimes against Muslims jumped by 60 per cent in 2015 compared to the previous year, according to Statistics Canada. 

New data released Tuesday show there were 159 anti-Muslim incidents reported to police that year, up from 99 the year before.

In another CBC News article, the Edmonton police have arrested a blogger Barry Winters with LGBTQ hate-related offences. Winters was targeting not only specific members of the LGBTQ community (as well as the community in general), but he also has a long history of targeting First Nations and Muslim-Canadians as well as other minorities. The article included the following:

The Alberta Hate Crimes Committee advocacy group Tuesday put out a news release expressing concern about the most recent data from Statistics Canada showing that, overall in Alberta, hate incidents were up by 39 per cent in 2015, climbing from 139 to 193, compared to a five per cent rise nationally. 

The Alberta Muslim Public Affairs Council, which tracks Islamophobic-related incidents, says members are seeing an upsurge.

With this background, ARC received a message from a reader in Edmonton who sent us the following note:

Just now on my lunch hour as I was leaving City Centre mall near the end of my lunch (ends at 1pm Alberta time), I noticed a group by the Canada 150 sign that was installed in front of Edmonton City Hall. About 4 boneheads were around a woman on a megaphone who was saying stuff that was mostly blocked by the wind, the fountain and some music. As I passed by they had a sign laying down with the paraphrased message of "Keep Canada safe from Islamic People". I've been off of your site for awhile but didn't know they were operative out here and wanted to pass along info. 

The group in question included members (and evidently not many of them) of the Canadian Combat Coalition, perhaps a smattering of Soldiers of Odin members, and of course Sandra Solomon who is currently on a tour of Alberta. Ryan Dean had been making a point of promoting Solomon's travels, including her appearance in Edmonton:

Not sure Ryan "Alberta" Dean is not going by Ryan Abertaz. Maybe he's had a stroke and lost control of his fine motor skills temporarily while typing the new name? Perhaps "Abertaz" just sounds more extremez. Suffice it to say, it just seems stupid.

The "fake media" in this case seems to be specifically focused on a journalist from the "Edmonton Journal" who wrote a scathing piece on the WCAI, CCC, and SoO protest at a Red Deer high school.

Ryan Dean and Joey De Luca continue to hold a grudge because, as discussed in a recent article, they have skin that makes origami paper look like leather by comparison:

Yes, because making veiled, misogynistic, threats to, "confront that bitch" certainly makes you look like a well adjusted and respectable member of the community Joey.

What both Dean and De Luca continue to chafe at is the continual references to the racism and bigotry of the WCAI (and, by extension, CCC) which is unfair because.... why is that Joey?

Ah! That's right! Both the WCAI and CCC are inclusive, multi-ethnic (there are at least three shades of white), hate groups advocacy groups.

But let's examine one little part of what De Luca has claimed here:

Anytime, you say?

Well then, you might want to get to know your "Manitoba captain" better then because he's a whole heaping pile of anti-Semitic and racist comments:

Soldiers of Odin: Requiem?

There was a point when I and the then other members of ARC would keep a close eye on what PEGIDA Canada was up to, both online and when they engaged in what were ultimately fruitless "flash demonstrations" that didn't accomplish anything other than to show their insignificance. They did however garner some press coverage for a cancelled protest in Montreal and a failed protest in Toronto.

PEGIDA Canada still exists on Facebook, but I can't actually remember the last time I paid much attention to them. Many of the members who actually did protest have given up or moved on to other flavors of the moment (i.e "Suffragettes Against Silence") or formed their own group; before Joey De Luca created the WCAI, he was the Alberta rep for PEGIDA. I think this is in part because many of these people seem to want to be the head of something, perhaps as a result of a personality conflict or the feeling that "they" have the answers. Others simply seem to grow bored and drop out. In any case, the results are the same. After an initial flurry of activity, these groups inevitably lose energy and their members lose interest.

This phenomena seems to also be happening with the Soldiers of Odin.

Now, to be clear, I'm not saying that the SoO is entirely a spent force. They are still able to get some numbers out in both Alberta and Ontario as evidenced by the protests that occurred in Calgary on June 3 as well as the protests that have taken place in Toronto as well as SoO members in Ottawa on both May 6 and June 3 as well. Quebec may also still be active, though provincial president Katy Latulippe is doing a piss poor job of trying to keep up the facade that the SoO aren't filled with racists:

But other than that?

Public Urination and The Fallout From The Protests in Calgary and Ottawa

Now that I have your attention....

Joey De Luca, Jesse Wielenga, Devon Mannix. and Ryan Dean have been basking in the glow of what they believe to have been a wildly successful protest at Calgary City Hall this past Saturday:

Yes, a huge success.... despite the fact that the location they situated themselves in and the presence of anti-fascists and other protesters resulted in their message reaching only those already in the choir.

Hey, beggars can't be choosers.

They also appear to have an inflated sense of their own importance:

Riiggghhhhtttttt..........

They were certainly crowing about their perceived success not long after the protest when a bunch of them decided to stop at a nearby service station. Wielenga decided to record this historic moment for posterity and published it on YouTube, meaning he actually thought this dumpster fire presented them in a positive light (and yes, I know I spelled "Canadian" wrong in the introduction, but I'm cranky and tired so.... yeah):



Yep, that is WCAI founder Joey De Luca taking a piss behind a service station (which I presume likely has a toilet inside) in the middle of the day, all on video,

You know, as one would do.

Events of June 3: Anti-Muslim Protests

Well seems to have been an interesting day across the country.

Sign from the protest in Calgary

I'll be posting more on the anti-government/anti-Muslim protests that occurred in various cities in the next few days, but first here are a few comments by those who countered the haters.

Vancouver:

Based on photos posted by Brad Salzberg, it looks as if there were around two dozen people (give or take half a dozen) preaching to the choir. Among those who did attend was Dan Murray of Canadian Immigration Watch:

Edmonton:

A friend sent us the following:

So in Edmonton, it looked like there was a little less than 100 shitheads who showed up. Didn't see anyone on our side (I watched for an hour and a half). Although Bernard the Roughneck was one of the speakers.

When asked about the nature of the protest, the witness wrote:

From what I saw (I didn't stay the entire time), the Western Independence Party of Alberta was there handing out flyers, Jeff Sharpe made an intro speech about how the Liberals and NDP aren't listening and aren't transparent, and Bernard made a speech on how WCAI were morons for discriminating against Muslims, and that the real issue was pipelines, the farm bill, freedom of speech, etc.

Video ARC received of a portion of the protest appears to confirm this assessment:

Calgary:

From the CBC:

Anti-Islam, Anti-fascist groups clash at Calgary city hall 

On one side were supporters of a group called the Worldwide Coalition Against Islam, which is against M-103, a non-binding motion condemning Islamophobia and religious discrimination passed in the House of Commons earlier this year.....Among them, a woman held a sign saying her grandfather fought against Nazis and now she feels she's doing the same. 

"I'm sorry, I'm just a bit emotional about it, just the fact that history's being allowed to repeat itself," said the woman, who asked her name not be published. 

"One of the fellows here … in the other group, he wants a neighbourhood of only Muslims so if anything goes down they can bomb that neighbourhood and kill all the Muslims. That's the same thing as a Jewish ghetto, the exact same thing."

A friend who attended the event wrote the following:

Today in Calgary about 35-40 anti-fascists opposed 70-75 Islamophobic, fascists. In

over ten years of anti-racist/anti-fascist organizing I have never seen a hate rally of this size, scope, and nature up-front and in-person. A friend said it best in comparing it to a Nazi rally in Munich in 1930s Germany. It was truly heartbreaking. 

Today was not a win, but it also was not a loss. It was a stalemate. This was because of different factors. 

One major factor was because of the sheer stupidity of the Islamophobes. They had boxed themselves in at City Hall Plaza so the fact is that those walking by and driving by could not actually see them, let alone hear them. 

Further, when provoked they let their genocidal, racist language spew from their mouths which was duly recorded by our side. Also, I am quite certain they will be shown for what they are in the mainstream press: violent, racist white people. 

It should be noted, that at least 1/3 to 1/2 of their side had driven in from Edmonton and many smaller towns and hamlets. The membership size of organised Islamophobes in this city is not as large but it is big for the province. And still, there are 8 Islamophobic groups active in the city. Calgary is at the forefront of hate. 

I am happy that we stood up to them, that we spoke out, showed up; that we distributed so much literature exposing them. But our anti-fascist movement has to grow, because these fascists are not going away. They are also militarized. They have their Brownshirts and they were ready to draw blood. 

We have to reach out further to more allies and communities. I am thankful to all our people and supporters who showed up to stand up to the growing fascist movement in this city and province. 

Finally, they did not have a permit and broke the law by using a sound system. The city and police knew about it (I was told this by a police officer) and still did nothing. This shows, yet again, you can never put your faith in the state.

Regina:

According to WCAI Saskatchewan "captain" Christopher Hayes, and despite the effort to spin it, his event was not particularly well attended:

Winnipeg:

An estimated two hundred antifascists sent self-described "Canadian Patriots" packing at the Manitoba Legislature on Saturday, June 3, 2017, after antifa scouts determined that the Worldwide Coalition Against Islam (WCAI) at the last minute had moved a “free speech” rally originally scheduled to be held at city hall to the Broadway location. It did not go well for the WCAI which, despite its bluster, again could only muster nine supporters:

WCAI supporters, Manitoba Legislature, June 3, 2017. (Top left: Justin Cormier, black Jesus t-shirt.)

Three self-styled “Canadian Patriots," one of whom had conveyed threats to Winnipeg antifascists in the days leading up to the rally, aggressively engaged younger members of the antifascist crew and eventually emerged somewhat chastened, egos and bodies battered, from hard lessons learned on the front lawn of the legislative building. 

Photo credit: Jasmine Tea

Minutes later the police arrived, eventually including members of the riot squad, and on a day when a trans parade would begin its march a couple of hours later proceeded to arrest a non binary activist, M., who was abruptly and violently cuffed and thrown into a squad car for continuing to take photos of the police after they ordered her to refrain from doing so. When antifa protesters surrounded the police car the officer rammed into some of the protesters with the front bumper before the police cleared the way. The irony is that M. had been among those who tried to de-escalate tensions during the altercations at the event.  

Photo credit: Jasmine Tea

Eventually M. was released and was able to speak prior to the Trans March, part of the weekend’s Pride activities. FF1-Fascist Free Treaty One, was joined by strong contingents from the Urban Warrior Alliance, American Indian Movement (AIM), Crazy Indian Brotherhood, LGBTQIA2* activists, and many others.  

Photo credit: Jasmine Tea

The Council of Concerned Canadian Citizens (CCCC), WCAI and their supporters have thus far attempted on five occasions since early March to generate public support in Winnipeg. At every turn they have been rebuffed by strong antifascist organizing. When their public events were not outright cancelled, they sent in the Soldiers of Odin who, too, were summarily routed during altercations at city hall in late March. In word and deed, Winnipeg's FF1-Fascist Free Treaty One has demonstrated yet again that racist hate is not welcome here. True to FF1's motto: "Peg City Don't Play!” - Report from FF1.

Photo credit: Jasmine Tea

Toronto

The reports ARC and others have received suggests that the number of anti-fascists dwarfed any Islamophobes who decided to make themselves known. Hopefully we'll get more details.

Ottawa:

According to journalist Kevin Metcalf, the "One Million Canadian March Against Trudeau" was short of a million by roughly 999,500 deplorables. Here is a video that he took of the event where he made the following observation:

Got harassed, threatened had my hands/camera whacked repeatedly with a stick. These guys really don't like free expression...

However, another individual suggests the number was actually much lower and the 500 might be because unrelated groups were also present on Parliament Hill:

Kevin Metcalf's numbers are way off. The Islamophobe event was triple booked with yoga on the hill and a Lyme Disease awareness rally. Their actual numbers were somewhere between 100-150 at best. It's the largest presence they've had but far fewer than 1 million. There might have been more but their bus from Kingston was touched up by comrades before it could leave. 

We had maybe 30 anti-facsists at best. Many were confused that our meeting point wasn't on the hill and the violent event with Kevin Johnston left a few people worried that more violence would follow. A more organized action might have brought in a held greater numbers. 

In the end we decided to hold a main exit at parliament hill as a choke point in case any fash tried to come at us again. They saw the strategic advantage and chose to stay back. Faith Goldy from rebel media wasn't so lucky. She attempted to confront us in the narrow entrance way and was shouted down with megaphones and airhorns. 

Parliament hill is always a poor choice for a rally since police keep you in a fenced off area away from the public. We used that to our advantage and leafleted everyone going near parliament hill. People were very shocked to find out what was happening in their city and thanked us for showing up. 

Once the events were winding down, we chose to head to the Police station in solidarity with out comrades being held. The police in response went into lockdown and promised they wouldn't release anyone until we leave. Some left and others stayed. Everyone was released around midnight.

This last part is related to an incident allegedly involving Kevin Johnston and four anti-fascists who were arrested. From the individual who sent ARC the information above is this report on what

happened:

Kevin Johnston was out trying to troll Antifa, then assaulted a young woman before getting the beat down he'd been asking for all day. 

He claims he was stabbed but that's an outright lie to get attention.

A more detailed explanation followed:

He was out looking for trouble for two days. When he didn't get it, he approached anti-racists far from the Islamophobe march. He get up in the face of some young girls, grabbed their arms when they didn't want to be filmed and got knocked down in the process. He then started saying he was stabbed but that's bullshit. When police confirmed there was no knife, he then changed the story to include a gun. 

He started pointing randomly to people he thought pushed him over and the police ended up arresting four Anti-Racists.

Fredericton:

Nothing specific, but it seems that the event was poorly attended based on a post concerning the Ottawa protest:

Other locations:

Hopefully I'll get more information soon. When I do I may very well update this article rather than write another.