Diagolon and Trolling: How To Minimize Platforming the Far-Right and Instead Provide Context

Over the years there has been a lot of discussion about the danger of platforming right wing extremists. It's an issue that I've wrestled with for years myself here on the blog and also on Twitter. On the one hand I've always believed that it was important to share information about could amount to a significant danger to the community; the best disinfectant is sunlight after all. 

But as I tried to expose those individuals and groups who could cause real harm, I also tried to do so in a way that didn't give them any sort of power. A lot of these individuals and groups WANT others to talk about them because uncritical examination allows the noxious beliefs to spread more widely.

In order to try to avoid that I generally employ two primary strategies. The first is mockery. The bigots and hate groups I covered have all been so very self-serious. Using humour as a means of disarming and showing how utterly ridiculous that they are while at the same time showing the public why we should also be concerned often took the wind out of their sails, so to speak.

Also, I'm naturally snarky so there's that too.

The second thing I do which I think is far more important is to try as best I can to provide the critical context for the stories I shared (hence why I was and continue to be verbose as hell) and to avoid telling the narrative that THEY want shared.

So with that, let's engage go through that process by discussing the critical context behind this still I took from a video posted by Derek Harrison of the Plaid Army/Diagolon on his Telegram page:

Shane Marshall and Pierre Poilievre

This photo shows Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre shaking hands with Shane Marshall. If the name "Shane Marshall" is familiar at all, it is likely because of an incident that occurred during the 2021 federal election where Marshall threw pebbles at Prime Minister Justin Trudeau:

• Trudeau hit by gravel as protesters surround campaign bus in London, Ont.
• People's Party of Canada drops riding president over stone-throwing incident at Trudeau event
• Trudeau lawyers fight subpoena for his testimony at stone-throwing trial
• Trudeau won't have to testify at trial of man accused of throwing gravel during London, Ont., campaign stop
• Trial date set for man accused of throwing gravel at Trudeau at 2021 London, Ont., event

Earlier this month, Marshall pleaded guilty to common assault (he had originally been charged with assault with a weapon). The video taken of him shaking hands with Poilievre occurred prior to Marshall's trial where he pled guilty on the first day.

Marshall is also a figure who has been covered by the Canadian Anti-Hate Network for his ties to the overtly racist Canada First and the accelerationist Diagolon:

• PPC RIDING DIRECTOR RUNS MULTIPLE WHITE NATIONALIST SOCIAL ACCOUNTS
• KNOWN WHITE NATIONALISTS SPOTTED AT VIOLENT ANTI-TRUDEAU DEMONSTRATION

Marshall was among those who attended the occupation in Ottawa in February 2022 where he was both photographed with then Canada First leader Tyler Russell (who now lives in the United States and runs with Nick Fuentes) and Diagolon de facto leader Jeremy MacKenzie:

Marshall and Tyler Russell left; Russell and Nick Fuentes right

Marshall and Russell with Jeremy MacKenzie during
the "Freedom Convoy" occupation of Ottawa, 2022

Marshall was also briefly detained in Ottawa during the occupation.

So when one looks at this photo of Shane Marshall and Pierre Poilievre, one's first instinct might be to suggest this is proof that Poilievre is courting far right extremists. Without any other context and, given Mr. Poilievre's own dog whistles since becoming leader, that might be a reasonable conclusion... EXCEPT that the context here is critical to understanding what we are actually seeing.

I found the video from which the still is taken on Derek Harrison's Telegram page. Harrison is someone who has been profiled here on the blog a number of times -- I first came across Harrison when he was volunteering for white nationalist Faith Goldy's mayoral campaign -- and he is, I guess, a sort of founding father of the Plaid Army and Diagolon. Harrison's antisemitism, Islamophobia, homophobia, and anti-immigrant rhetoric is well know to people who study this ecosystem.

Harrison and other Dags attended Marshall's trial in support. Suffice to say that it doesn't seem that any of them are especially contrite:

Shane has all the charisma of a soggy phonebook from 1992.

Marshall and Derek Harrison flanked by two unknown Dags.

The context of the video still with Marshall, a former PPC riding president who was working on Chelsea Hillier's campaign and an associate of Diagolon (many of whose members are supporters of the PPC and Bernier), and Pierre Poilievre who is the leader of a rival conservative political party is very important however:

Pictured from left to right: Derek Harrison, Maxine Bernier, Chelsea Hillier, and Tyler Russell

MacKenzie, Bernier, Harrison

Diagolon in general and in this case Harrison specifically loathe the Conservative Party, claiming that the CPC and the Liberals are simply two sides of the same corrupt, globalist, coin:

The CNP Eligible For Official Party Status Part V: Antisemitism, Racism, and the Beginning of Infighting

Just a quick reminder that when Travis Patron says he isn't a Nazi.... that he's really a Nazi:

Patron didn't like our previous article which was a continuation of our follow-up on the release of the Canadian Nationalist Party membership list:

The obvious problem for Patron being that the "defamation" came directly from his own CNP forum:

Nope. Not random Facebook posts.

The CNP forum.

The forum Patron created and runs.

The forum in which he claims the true loyalists of the party congregate:

Ouch! Awkward indeed!

The fallout from the article continues. Wednesday the "Vancouver Star" published an expose by journalist Melanie Green on Darik Horn who worked on Faith Goldy's mayoral campaign, acts as security for PPC leader Max Bernier, and is a member of the Canadian Nationalist Party"

"A man who describes himself as personal security for Maxime Bernier is a founding member of the Canadian Nationalist Party — a newly minted political party that advocates for white nationalism." Story by @mdgmedia https://t.co/UBnyQwMKOg

— Jen St. Denis (@JenStDen) October 9, 2019

But we aren't finished with the CNP either.

Not long after the CNP created the blog, this writer joined up probably in mid 2018. However not a hell of a lot was happening then so I lost interest and forgot about it. Not long after registering with Elections Canada Patron opened up the forum "in the interest of transparency" though it was clear that he had tried to sanitize the forum of the more objectionable posts; on that he didn't really succeed. It was only in September that I remembered the sock I created. Sure enough it was still active and I was able to see a section only members can participate in:

A shoutbox is a feature that allows people to leave short messages on the website and to chat with members in real time. The CNP shoutbox, or at least what I was able to access, contained the sort of racist and anti-semitic bs one would expect from a groups which is for all intents and purposes a Nazi party.

One of the individuals featured here is JamesNorth:

However also know him by his real name as he posted a moderated comment win which he very kindly provided said name:

He had also bravely posted his intention to contact ARC on the shoutbox.... along with Patron posting another comment about the "parasitic tribe":

Yeah... he's really brave.

Still, a point of contention did come up. After ARC published the membership list, Patron cut and pasted the list to is own forum which, as we have already noted, means either he knows that his claims the people outed would be put in danger was bs OR he actually (erroneously) believed the bs and published the list as an act of personal bravado knowing he was fine since he provided a false address:

Looks like James Barker (aka: "JamesNorth") is a CNP loyalist though.... except:

Our friends and fellow ARC members Yellow Vests Canada Exposed posted a thread on Ray Coelho on Twitter which sort of explains why a poc might be an attractive candidate for the CNP:

2/ The announcement was paired with a new post on their website, which included a really bizarre and strangely out of place disclaimer on ethnic majorities and POC.

I guess this is how they want to assure their white-is-right membership why it's ok to run a brown man. pic.twitter.com/yIvA8DR5Oy

— Yellow Vests Canada Exposed 🏴 (@VestsCanada) October 9, 2019

4/ There isn't much on Coelho online, but we did find a really interesting interview he did with antisemitic 9/11 truther Christopher Bollyn, from earlier this year. pic.twitter.com/iGN2tjU3EW

— Yellow Vests Canada Exposed 🏴 (@VestsCanada) October 9, 2019

6/ In the second clip, Bollyn talks about how it was really Jews who did 9/11.

It's worth mentioning that early in the 77 minute video, Coelho mentions Bollyn is one of the few investigative journalists he trusts. pic.twitter.com/3G1iPVYT3J

— Yellow Vests Canada Exposed 🏴 (@VestsCanada) October 9, 2019

8/ So who is Christopher Bollyn? Focusing nearly exclusively on the 9/11 truther garbage, he writes/wrote for American Free Press, who the SPLC has deemed a hate group. pic.twitter.com/virGbtuPI4

— Yellow Vests Canada Exposed 🏴 (@VestsCanada) October 9, 2019

10/ This is who the CNP's newest candidate in Lac-Saint-Louis considers to be trustworthy. If that isn't a red flag on his belief system and judgment, we don't know what is. pic.twitter.com/AJeRLXVTvA

— Yellow Vests Canada Exposed 🏴 (@VestsCanada) October 9, 2019

So while Coelho as a candidate for the CNP is working against his own self-interests, his antisemitism should be enough to satisfy members of the CNP at large, right?

Turns out not so much:

"JamesNorth", we hardly knew ye.

But he isn't the only fella that has left. Despite Patron's claim that his is a party of "free speech"....

.... that promise never ACTUALLY was intended to extend to the CNP forum:

The moderator, "jonottawa" was very insistent on protecting the reputation of both the CNP and the leader Travis Patron. However shortly after posting this message, he resigned as a forum moderator:

You won't find this post on the CNP forum any longer because Patron removed it. In fact it seems clear that any time Patron is challenged he either ignores the issue or disappears it because, you know, leadership!

It seems "jonottawa" knew this would happen so he saved his own post which ended up on Reddit:

What is especially interesting is that while Patron claimed to be opening up the forum to be transparent, there is currently a secret section open only to himself, the moderators, and perhaps a few trusted individuals but not the membership at large which can hardly be considered transparent. Moreover Patron posted something so inflammatory that "jonottawa" freaked out. In the thread that follows he accuses Patron of this:

So let's take a look at the Reddit thread:

  

So, what exactly was it that Patron posted?

I'm guessing he won't be sharing it but if I were to make a guess it might involve what happens if they don't (and they won't) achieve their goals at the ballot box.

The forum posts on setting up a rural headquarters, which sounds more like a compound, perhaps provides some insights:

Never a dull moment, eh?

Marc Lemire Out in Hamilton

Former neo-Nazi hate group leader Marc Lemire is no longer working for Hamilton by mutual agreement. We provided evidence to investigators that he continued to host hate materials on his now-defunct blog after the story broke.https://t.co/y9SMd23ktn

— Canadian Anti-Hate Network (@antihateca) August 16, 2019

Marc Lemire will not return to work for the city following investigation: sources. https://t.co/ULDqCSeJs1 #HamOnt pic.twitter.com/pPgYJwP7SP

— CBC Hamilton (@CBCHamilton) August 16, 2019

Sources say Lemire won’t be coming back, but for lots of us questions remain about how a known Neo-nazi got hired and may have been deliberately hidden at the City for years. It’s possible that other employees should face discipline. https://t.co/onIVxxtNxJ #CanLab #HamOnt #OnLab

— Sarah Molyneaux (@Sarah_Molyneaux) August 16, 2019

Right to the end, Lemire continued to deny his long-time involvement with the Heritage Front, involvement that ranged from simple membership early on, work on the hate group's website and later hosting it and numerous other hate sites, and finally the leadership of the hate group. This is all outlined in "Marc Lemire: A Summary of Information" that includes links to article written about Lemire's involvement in organized hate.

While the removal of Lemire is positive, there are still a lot of questions regarding his employment and why he appears to have been protected by Hamilton government officials. We also still have questions about his access to sensitive information and whether that information could have been shared with his fellow travelers.

Examination of Marc Lemire: Part XIII

Between 2008 and 2013, ARC published a series of articles detailing Mar Lemire's racist past and his involvement with the Heritage Front. I compiled all of the links on this single page:

Marc Lemire: Summary of Information

It has been more than six years since I've added to this series of article that highlighted the history of Marc Lemire's involvement with and eventual leadership of the Heritage Front. When I posted the last few articles I sort of felt like I was beating a dead horse so whenever I had heard of Lemire's name come up in my investigations, such as his participation in the memorials of lawyers Doug Christie and more recently Barbara Kulaszka I either briefly discussed his involvement or ignored it all together.

Chris Edmunds, Malcolm Ross, Michele Erstikaitis, Marc Lemire

I had assumed there was no further use in covering Lemire since I believed he was of no particular significance any longer.

That turned out to have been a mistake on my part, but it is a mistake that journalists such as Mack Lamoureux has rectified:

Marc Lemire is the last leader of the Heritage Front which has been described as one of the most impactful white supremacist groups in Canada since the Klan. A former member of the Heritage Front told us how he was a “very obliging foot-soldier” prior to being its leader.

— Mack Lamoureux (@MackLamoureux) May 8, 2019

His existence at the city was a quiet one with odd things like his outgoing message being his extension number not his name. Several days after I first contacted him on his work phone, his extension was taken out of service. The city would not confirm or deny that he worked there

— Mack Lamoureux (@MackLamoureux) May 8, 2019

A source told us that Lemire would have had back access to city employees data, something that worried @MatthewGreenNDP, Hamilton's first POC city councillor.

Green told us he was disgusted he didn’t know about this. pic.twitter.com/zyO03ZBeJG

— Mack Lamoureux (@MackLamoureux) May 8, 2019

For my American followers this would kinda be like uh... if Philadelphia had Don Black (of Stormfront fame) in their IT department. https://t.co/17FOqPMNJQ

— Mack Lamoureux (@MackLamoureux) May 8, 2019

Those articles on Lemire that I thought of as overkill I'm happy to say helped Mr. Lamouroeux in his research so I sort of feel a bit vindicated in having written them, but full credit to Mack for his dogged work.

I know there was another journalist who had been working on this story as well but she appears to have been stymied by the City of Hamilton for some reason which no doubt will result in a great deal of interesting speculation:

I did an FOI recently asking for any email correspondence containing the words "Marc Lemire" combined the words "Heritage Front," "neo-Nazi" & other terms. I'm looking for the response I got right now. Needless to say, it didn't turn up what I was looking for

— Samantha Craggs 🦉 (@SamCraggsCBC) May 8, 2019

Lemire's extension was never available in the city's dial-by-name directory. It always required going directly to a human being, who would connect you

— Samantha Craggs 🦉 (@SamCraggsCBC) May 8, 2019

However, Ms. Craggs was able to get Lemire to speak about his involvement with the Heritage Front after the publication of the "Vice" article.
In news that will surprise no one who follow this blog, Lemire lied:

"The Heritage Front stuff dates back to when I was a teenager," Lemire said, linking to an article where he said he's not a Nazi or white supremacist. 

"I reject the Heritage Front for what it was, as I have stated consistently for over 11 years." 

But, as Vice reported, an archived web page from the Heritage Front's website from 2001 shows Lemire distributing flyers saying "immigration can kill" in Hamilton. A post on Lemire's own webpage from that same year also describes him as the "head honcho" of the organization.

ARC first published this a number of years ago:

Hmmmm, 152 Carlton Street....

When this was published on Lemire's website, he would have been 26 years old.

In fact Lemire hosted the Heritage Front on Freedom-Site from 1998 (age of 23) to roughly 2001 when he appears to have moved it to a separate server. Here is an example of one of those early Heritage Front websites (December 2000, I believe):

And here is the HF merchandise page where the hate group sold their magazine featuring former KKK leader David Duke and videos by the leader of White Aryan Resistance Tom Metzger:

Gee, 152 Carlton Street again?

Surely a coincidence.

And here is a request for donations to keep Freedom-Site alive:

There's that 152 Carlton Street again!

Curious isn't it? I mean, it would be amazing if one could link that address directly to Lemire, wouldn't it?

Oh! You mean he had a personal webpage?

Sigh....

And by the way, here is one of the images of the Canadian Patriot Network Lemire designed:

Subtle Marc. Real subtle.

And what did his other website look like when Marc would have been 23?

Tsk, tsk....

The reality is that Marc already tried to snow people regarding his past with the Heritage Front. In that case, he had a willing stooge in Ezra Levant who refused to challenge Lemire's claims because Levant also had an agenda:

Uh, the Heritage Front uh, was active back in, uh, the the 90s and I was a young kid at the time. I had some, uh, interest in some of the things that they were doing in particularly thing like uh opposition to employment equity, things like reducing immigration. So I uh, listened to some of what they were about, and uh, I went away from it. I mean I was involved with them peripherally in my teenage years.

Well, Lemire is right that he was involved with the Heritage Front as a teenager:

CANADA - FEBRUARY 23 Hearing Adjourned Heritage Front leader Wolfgang Droege and his white supremacist supporters leave University Ave. courthouse yesterday. (Toronto Star)

But he was also involved in his early 20s as he continued to count Wolfgang Droege as a friend: