Two Ontario men are facing terrorism-related charges for allegedly participating in the creation of manifestos and video recruitment in support of far-right extremist and neo-Nazi terrorist movements, RCMP say.
In a news release issued Friday morning, police said the charges are the result of an 18-month investigation with multiple search warrants executed in the Toronto and Niagara regions.
According to investigators, the men helped create the terrorist group’s manifesto and the Atom Armed Division’s recruitment video.
The Atomwaffen Division was listed as a terrorist organization in Canada in 2021, and after being listed, many former members joined “Active Club Canada,” investigators said.
Members of the group have been seen conducting combat training in local parks. Police provided this photo as an example, with the faces of the people involved blurred out.
Investigators say members of the group also have ties to a Durham-area group called the Hammerskins.
According to police, the Atomwaffen Division is an international neo-Nazi terrorist organization that originated in the United States and has since spread to the United Kingdom and Canada, among other regions.
“This group calls for acts of violence against racial, religious and ethnic groups, police and public officials in order to promote the breakdown of society,” the RCMP said in a news release.
The Active Club network, on the other hand, is made up of decentralized cells of white supremacist and neo-Nazi groups, police said. They operate in many states in the United States and other countries, including Canada.
“The network was founded in January 2021 to promote mixed martial arts to fight what it claims is a system that targets white people and a ‘warrior spirit’ to prepare for the coming racial war. ” states the news release. To read.
The third organization mentioned in the news release, the Terrorgram Collective, is a group of channels on the messaging app Telegram that police say share a “neo-fascist ideology” and are racially motivated. They say they are creating and sharing manuals on how to carry out violence.
Matthew Althorp, of Niagara, Ont., faces most of the charges related to the investigation, and is charged with three counts of hate crime involvement in a terrorist organization and two counts of participating in the activities of a terrorist group. ing. One charge includes aiding and abetting terrorist activities.
Toronto man Christopher Nippak has been charged with participating in the activities of a terrorist group.
RCMP said both men appeared in court this week and were remanded in custody for bail hearings.
