The Jewish Defence League Targets the Canadian Nationalist Party

Travis Patron, the failed federal candidate who currently faces charges of assault against two women, and leader of the Canadian Nationalist Party, has continued to escalate his party's rhetoric on social media, and confirm for everyone watching, that they are, in fact, a neo-Nazi party. In recent months Patron has photographed himself giving a Roman Salute, called for the recruitment of "Roman Salute people," released a video implying he is continuing on the work of the fascist 1933 Canadian Nationalist Party led by William Whittaker, and posted about Oswald Mosley, of the British Union of Fascists. 

Well, for one thing despite claiming the CNP is not a neo-Nazi party, he continues to post things on social media that confirm it is a neo-Nazi party. 2/15 pic.twitter.com/GVToQf9OLe

— Kurt Phillips🧛‍♂️ (@ARCCollective) May 13, 2020

THREAD

/1 Travis Patron and his fascist Canadian Nationalist Party are no longer pretending they aren’t Nazis, it seems.

This video was recently published to their social media channels: pic.twitter.com/74OWz7uk9r

— YVCE 🧛‍♂️🧛‍♀️🧛‍♂️🧛‍♀️ (@VestsCanada) February 9, 2020 

As such, they have been distributing a print version of their antisemitic video from 2019 referencing the "parasitic tribe" throughout Canada. In addition to the language of the video in written format, it includes an image of Patron giving a Roman Salute. 

Back in the summer of 2019 when he first released the video, Patron gained the attention of the RCMP, who subsequently began investigating him for hate crimes. Patron told CBC that the "parasitic tribe" referred to "globalists":

Patron told CBC News his statements are directed at "globalists." "They go by many different names," he said. "We refer to them simply as the globalists because they conduct their business everywhere while simultaneously calling no place in particular home. We would remove [them] from our country. We have no use for them."

Patron also tweeted his denial that he means any ethnic group, instead choosing to double down on the "globalist" explanation (which doesn't hold any water anyway, given the antisemitic origin of the term.) 

Except it turns out he really does mean Jews: 

The closing language on the flyer distributed by the CNP. Quite the defense against hate allegations to argue that it's not antisemitic because they're "not Jews."

This has caused Meir Weinstein and his far-right and anti-Muslim Jewish Defence League to set their sights on the Canadian Nationalist Party. On one hand, we say "finally," while on the other we say "at least they're leaving Muslims alone." 

On August 6, 2020 Weinstein and company visited the Mississauga home of another failed CNP federal candidate, Gus Stefanis. Weinstein posted a short livestream in front of the house. Claiming this was "phase 1," Weinstein spoke about the flyer campaign, and advised his audience that the JDL will not stand for this hatred of Jews. Regardless of one's thoughts of protesting at someone's actual home, the sentiment behind it is of merit - until you are reminded that it's one hate group going after another hate group. Their only difference is who they hate the most. It's also interesting that they're targeting Patron when they've befriended other white supremacists and neo-Nazis in the past. Perhaps their judgment is getting better, or perhaps Meir just sees an opportunity. 

Video has been cropped to hide the house number.

This isn't the first time the JDL has confronted neo-Nazis (although, again, they're known for taking on strange bedfellows.) While Weinstein claims credit in the above video for taking down Terry Long's Aryan Nations in Alberta, it didn't quite happen that way. While Weinstein and the JDL visited Long's compound in Caroline, AB in the 1986, it was actually the assault on retired journalist Keith Rutherford in 1990, by Long's followers, that caused Long to flee to BC in the mid-90's, ultimately resulting in the Aryan Nations collapse.

It's also interesting that Weinstein frames this as a protection of sorts for the overall patriot movement, who has largely accepted Patron, Stefanis, and the Canadian Nationalist Party. Weinstein doesn't want them making "inroads" into the movement, except they've already parked their car, gone in, and made themselves at home, while being wholly welcomed. It's almost like the "patriot movement" is actually part of the problem. 

While Patron is the leader of the CNP, Stefanis himself has only himself to blame. After joining a particularly vile neo-Nazi Telegram chat on July 17, Stefanis, posting as "Gus Smith," confirmed he is a member of and promoted the CNP.  He also promoted neo-Nazi Kevin Goudreau's Canadian Nationalist Front, and admitted that it was antisemitism which brought him to that channel:

Stefanis' introduction post, confirming it was an antisemitic poster that an
antifascist account tweeted about that brought him there

The antisemitic poster uses the archaic antisemitic trope that Jews are responsible for debt
and shows a Star of David being broken in half, proclaiming "break debt slavery"

Have you tried not being a neo-Nazi? I hear prospective employers really go for that. 

Both the CNP and Stefanis have been quiet about the incident, at least publicly. Weinstein, on the other hand, has assured his following this is just the beginning. 

Folks may remember Never Again Canada as a 235,000 member strong pro-Israel and anti-Palestine/anti-Muslim Facebook page. It ran a recruitment campaign for the JDL, and NAC and Weinstein/JDL were/are close allies. It was unpublished by Facebook in March, 2020 only to seemingly return on April 14, 2020. Except this time it exists to spread virulent hatred against Jews by weaponizing the Palestinian plight for liberation. The content is less about Palestinian liberation, an entirely and wholly righteous position, and moreso about how evil Jews are. It currently has only 144 followers. 

(A private, real Never Again Canada group still exists, although with a fraction of the followers of the original page.Their Twitter is also still active.) 

It seems like a classic case of name-swiping, made more interesting by support of the CNP and Patron. If one didn't know better, they might even think Patron and the CNP could be involved. 

Page transparency from Facebook showing the new page's creation date 

Back in July, Weinstein was taunted by the new "Never Again Canada" page, challenging him to target Patron:

So that's what Meir plans to do. The JDL plans to travel to Patron's hometown of Redvers, SK, and confront him. 

Looking forward to it, Meir!

GUEST ARTICLE: Far-Right Fail to Bait Anti-Racist Protesters in Rural Alberta

After more than 12 years, in January 2020, the founder of the ARC blog, Kurt Phillips, stepped away, passing the blog to new writers. Since then, he has contributed the the Canadian Anti-Hate Network as both a writer and a board member. 

This is Kurt's first guest article. 

You can follow Kurt at @ARCCollective on Twitter. 

*  *  *  * 

The murder of George Floyd that resulted in mass protests against racial injustice has become an international movement as people from around the world have take to the streets to protest police brutality and systemic racism within their own countries. Canada has been no exception as protests and rallies in support of BLM and other racialized peoples have occurred in every major city. These protests have been with very few exceptions peaceful as far-right counter-protesters such as the Urban Infidels and Soldiers of Odin among others have been vastly outnumbered resulting in these groups slinking off into the shadows.

The protests however have not been confined to the big cities. Several smaller cities and towns have also held protests including a number in Alberta. Though many of the people in these communities have been supportive, they have also been targeted by far-right groups who have attempted to intimidate organizers into shutting down.

One such example is the town of Innisfail, Alberta where Brittany Bovey organized a rally against racism. In doing so she quickly became the target of an orchestrated campaign of intimidation to prevent the protest from occurring.

Among those who appear to have engaged in this campaign was WEXIT leader Peter Downing who has been railing against the BLM movement and the fight for racial equality. In one post made to the group’s social media page, Downing wrote the following:

It’s time to show these communist fairies who is boss. 

We’ll bring “enforcement” back to law enforcement. Its gonna be like pre-1982… the Good Ol’ Days are coming back baby!

Downing himself is a former RCMP officer whose former wife alleges he threatened to throw her out a window.

Because of a deluge of threatening messaged Ms. Bovey initially cancelled the event which resulted in Downing posting on Twitter, “Innisfail Rocks! Good job telling these communists to take a hike.” However, when the event was rescheduled he posted this on Facebook:

It is likely that there will be a counter-protest. 

We don’t take kindly to left-wing terrorists in these parts.

Many of the posts on the WEXIT group page engaged in the usual conspiracy theories that we have become accustomed to; that any person coming to protest was being paid to do so, that George Soros is the mastermind, or that “we never had any problems with racism until Trudeau was elected” with some claiming they were never racist until the BLM movement began. Still others suggested engaging in targeted violence as, for example, one person suggested that a snipper should take out the leaders and that “two boxes of ammo should do the trick.”

Calls for violence against the participants were not confined to the WEXIT pages as similar sentiments have been found on Yellow Vests Canada, Northern Guard, Worldwide Coalition Against Islam, and some groups supporting the PPC. Perhaps the most concerning comments are found in the III% Alberta group. The III% is an American-based militia founded on the erroneous belief that only 3% of colonists participated in the War of Independence thus they were among the elite. The III% also have made inroads into Canada and members have participated in numerous rallies and protests often acting as “security”. Members of the Alberta III% shared several links to news about the rescheduled rally including those from the far-right Rebel Media which characterized the protest in Innisfail as “BLM outsiders planning ‘re-education’ rally in small Alberta town.”

Some comments were as follows:

Where can we contribute to buying more live ammo for the cops? 

Can I bring my AR just to piss off the Liberals 

Asking for a lot of trouble 

Shoot first ask questions later.

Perhaps the most telling comment appears to have been a reference to an especially ugly time in Alberta’s past:

Where are the brothers from Caroline? Only [need] 4 or 5 of them to put these fools in their place 

In the 1980s Caroline, Alberta was the headquarters of the Aryan Nations in Canada. Then leader Terry Long organized a rally that brought members of the Aryan Nations and Klansmen from across Western Canada and the United States. Among those present was Carney Nerland who would later be convicted of manslaughter in Saskatchewan after shooting Leo LaChance, a Native trapper, in the back. Long himself was later implicated in an assault on a former journalist by three neo-Nazi skinheads in Edmonton that left the man blinded in one eye.

The Innisfail protest took place on June 13. It is unclear if any of the III% militia appeared as they said they would, however there was a very small counter-protest.

One of the counter-protesters was Pat King who helped to organize the Yellow Vest convoy to Ottawa and had been involved with Downing’s WEXIT movement. King has spoken of Canada and being an “Anglo-Saxon” nation and has perpetuated antisemetic libels. Also present was Keann Bexte who now works for Rebel Media but who has his own problematic history with race.

Despite the efforts by counter-protesters to provoke a violent response, the more than 300 attendees from both Innisfail and surrounding communities refused to take the bait and engaged in civil discussions with many of the counter-protesters who were at least willing to listen. The success of the protest in Innisfail has already inspired activists in other smaller communities to hold similar events recognizing that racism isn’t a big city problem but one that exists everywhere despite the inability, or refusal, to recognize it exists.

The CNP Eligible For Official Party Status Part I: This Article is the Teaser. ;)

If you'd like to see what ARC and YVCE are planning for the next blog post and you don't mind spoilers, feel free to scroll to the end of this article. Then come back and read through the rest. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

By the end of August Travis Patron's efforts to have his far-right Canadian Nationalist Party recognized as an actual officially recognized party appears to have come to fruition:

Elections Canada sent party leader Travis Patron a letter on Thursday. It confirmed the party met the requirements for eligibility under the Canada Elections Act and can be registered for the upcoming election if the writs of election are issued on Sept. 9 or later. 

Even then, the party is still not actually registered. It must still endorse a candidate, whose candidacy then must be confirmed by a returning officer. Patron says he will run under the party banner in the southeast Saskatchewan riding of Souris—Moose Mountain. 

If readers click on the link they will note in the article there is mention of a plan to publicize the identities of those who supported the party’s Elections Canada application. Know that we WILL get back to this. In fact it will be the primary focus of the second article.

It shouldn't be a surprise to learn that Patron is very pleased:

Patron himself will be running in Souris-Moose Mountain in Saskatchewan (a Saskatchewan mountain???) and appears to be the only CNP candidate running in the 2019 federal election though this sad fact hasn't dampened his enthusiasm:

The fly in the ointment for Patron, as I've already alluded to, is that he and members of his newly minted official party are terrified of having their membership revealed:

I stress once again that we will absolutely be addressing this in the second article (if you AREN'T a CNP member or supporter, you are REALLY going to like it).

Alberta Soldiers of Odin Planned Labour Day Stunt: A Reminder Who They Are

A couple of weeks ago ARC learned that the Soldiers of Odin in Edmonton planned on holding an event near the Mustard Seed in the city on Labour Day, ostensibly to feed the homeless:

Far-right anti-immigrant group the Soldiers of Odin say they will be handing out food and water by the Mustard Seed on Labour Day because there's no services for the homeless that day. 4 blocks away @EdmLabour will be feeding hundreds of homeless https://t.co/HQI8Kf59bb

— Duncan Kinney (@duncankinney) August 24, 2018

Of course it must be noted that the Mustard Seed, a faith-based organization that serves a diverse population which isn't limited to white Christians, wants nothing to do with this group and that another organization has been serving Edmonton's homeless population on Labour Day for nearly 30 years without fanfare:

update--checked with them--Mustard Seed isn't officially involved with this. in fact the Mustard Seed won't even be open at noon on this day. Soldiers of Odin are just using them as a prop

— Jim Storrie (@JimStorrie) August 23, 2018

Far right group the Soldiers of Odin are doing their homeless outreach schtick the same day and time as @EdmLabour  has been feeding unhoused and underemployed people for 29 years. https://t.co/jck2laPEYg

— Progress Alberta (@ProgressAlberta) August 24, 2018

The SoO don't plan on coming alone, as two other far-right groups have been listed as participating:

A church in Edmonton’s inner city says it has nothing to do with a plan by far-right groups to distribute food and water to homeless people near its premises.
In social media posts, members of Soldiers of Odin, Onward Christian Soldiers and Northern Guard said they plan to serve food and water to the homeless on Sept. 3.

All three hate groups were also involved in the Worldwide Coalition Against Islam fundraiser for the rally Joey Deluca had been planning for Toronto but which was ultimately cancelled and those involved in the scheme humiliated:

Should this particular stunt proceed it won't be the first time hate groups have tried to improve their public image and it will certainly not be the last. However given that the Alberta SoO is involved, I thought that ARC should remind our readers about the leader of the Calgary chapter and who is believed to be participating in the Edmonton stunt:

ARC wrote a lengthy article about Caldwell this past April. In that article ARC exposed his racism and antisemitism:

ARC could also highlight his connection to hate groups such as the WCAI, Canadian Nationalist Front (Goudreau's project), Blood & Honour, the III% militia, and other groups:

Call me a cynic, but I have a difficult time trusting in the altruism of the Soldiers of Odin given all of this.