Canadian soldiers charged in alleged anti-government terror plot

Active members of the Canadian Armed Forces are among four people facing terrorism charges in Quebec for allegedly plotting an anti-government militia.

At least three of the four are accused of taking “concrete actions to facilitate terrorist activity,” including a plot “to forcibly take possession of land in the Québec City area,” according to the RCMP.

The alleged target was not specified, but it was not a government facility or a political landmark, the RCMP told National Post. It was described more as land that could be used to build their group or use as a base to start a “new society.”

“They took part in military-style training, as well as shooting, ambush, survival, and navigation exercises. They also conducted a scouting operation. A variety of firearms, some prohibited, as well as high-capacity magazines and tactical equipment were allegedly used in these activities,” the RCMP said in a written release Tuesday morning.

The group was active as far back as 2021, at a time of COVID pandemic travel restrictions and vaccination rollouts. The RCMP investigation began in March 2023, RCMP Staff Sgt. Camille Habel, with the RCMP’s national security team in Quebec, said in an interview.

Members of the group include “two currently serving members of the Canadian Armed Forces, one former CAF member and one former civilian instructor with the Royal Canadian Air Cadets,” said Canadian Forces Provost Marshal Brig.-Gen. Vanessa Hanrahan in a statement released late Tuesday, more than 10 hours after news of the charges were released.

“Violent extremism remains a serious concern within Canadian and international society,” the statement says.

“Where warranted and when jurisdiction allows, the Military Police investigate all matters related to alleged criminal activity of CAF members.”

Marc-Aurèle Chabot, 24, of Québec City, Simon Angers-Audet, 24, of Neuville and Raphaël Lagacé, 25, of Québec City, face a charge of knowingly facilitating a terrorist activity, with a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison.

Matthew Forbes, 33, of Pont-Rouge, faces charges including possession of firearms, prohibited devices and explosives, and possession of controlled items. Forbes faces charges under the Defence Production Act, which regulates military procurement and access to military or national security goods. Habel confirmed some of the equipment involved was sourced from Canada’s Department of National Defence but would not say whether that included firearms.

The men were arrested Tuesday by heavily armed members of police emergency response teams, Habel said.

Not all people involved with or linked to the group have been arrested; some were involved in some aspects but not deemed to have been involved in criminal acts, Habel said.

The RCMP deems it a case of ideologically motivated violent extremism.

The investigation includes searches in the Quebec City area in January 2024 during which 16 explosive devices, 83 firearms and accessories, about 11,000 rounds of ammunition, nearly 130 magazines, four pairs of night vision goggles and military equipment were seized, the RCMP said. Among the weapons seized were military-style assault rifles.

Photos released by the RCMP show a group of seven people in military camouflage armed with rifles in an apparent shooting and tactics training exercise in what looks like a rock quarry.

One of the accused allegedly created and administered an Instagram account to recruit new members to the anti-government militia. The Instagram account featured photos of people in combat fatigues and guns outdoors, some of the scenes are in winter, surrounded by snow, others in summer or fall in woods, and at least one appears to be inside a vehicle.

The RCMP would not say what name the group referred to itself by, nor detail specific ideological tenets.

“The main point of the ideology was that they’re anti-government, anti-authority,” said Habel. “Quite often that will be mixed with racism, misogyny, and then personal grievances. And there’s nihilism that we’re seeing now … violence becomes the ideology, so some people mix that up and then create whatever ideology they want,” she said of current trends in ideological violent extremism.

“It’s a major issue. It’s really a society problem, not just a police issue,” said Habel.

“The recruiting is done quite often online. So, then, who’s online the most is our young teenagers and children, so it’s something that is worrisome. And as we saw with these guys, they also did a lot of recruiting with their Instagram account.”

The RCMP are working to have the Instagram account taken down. It was made private, so it is not publicly visible, she said.

“It was used for the members to promote training sessions and exercises and they were having these exercises in different regions in Quebec and Ontario. And we know also that the online group was really aimed at recruiting individuals that already had an interest in or knowledge of firearms.”

Habel said the alleged involvement of members of Canada’s armed forces — people trained to fight and kill — added a level of public safety and officer danger to the investigation.

“It adds to what we need to consider as we’re investigating,” Habel said. “It has to change the way that we’re dealing with them and the way we prepare for search warrants or the way we prepare for the arrests this morning. We plan for all of that

“We always make sure throughout an investigation to find that balance between having to prove the elements of the offence and then having to ensure public safety — and public safety will always win.”

She said investigators always were assessing if a national security threat was imminent during the lengthy investigation.

Other charges against the accused in this case include the possession of prohibited devices, transfer of firearms and ammunition, careless storage of firearms, possession of explosives and possession of controlled items.

The investigation was led by the Integrated National Security Enforcement Team (INSET), considered a top-tier response to fighting domestic extremism and terrorism. INSET units are led by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police but are made up of officers from multiple law enforcement agencies who are specially trained.

The RCMP describes the mission of INSET as tracking, deterring, disrupting and preventing criminal activities of terrorist groups or individuals who pose a threat to Canada’s national security.

The four charged are scheduled to appear today in court in Québec City. None of the allegations have yet been proven.

The Department of National Defence (DND) would not comment on the case for six hours, but in the afternoon said two of the accused are active members of the Canadian military.

“The Canadian Armed Forces is taking these allegations very seriously and has fully participated in the investigation led by the RCMP,” says a brief written statement sent by DND.

Wesley Wark, a specialist on intelligence and national security issues as a senior fellow at the Centre for International Governance Innovation, said the alleged plot looks concerning and should lead to further investigation.

“Given the kinds of materials seized, including explosives, it would appear to have been a very serious plot that was pre-empted. The authorities will try to determine whether the individuals charged had connections with others in Canada, had any cross-border connections with far-right groups in the U.S., and the nature of their social media interactions, including sources of inspiration,” Wark told National Post.

“The plot sounds to me like it might have been inspired by the activities of U.S. militia groups. Frightening to see such a thing manifest itself in Canada. It shows the military has a lot to do to root out potential extremists in their midst.

“Those arrested were in their mid-20s, so not among the youngest of recruits, and the CAF will have to be concerned about the impact of this case on their recruiting drive for the regular forces and reserves.”

The federal government previously said ideologically motivated violent extremism (IMVE) “draws from a complex range of grievances and ideas from across the traditional ‘left-right’ ideological spectrum.”

Canada’s national security and intelligence community focusses on four subcategories of IMVE: xenophobic violence, anti-authority violence, gender-driven violence, and other grievance-driven and ideologically motivated violence.

While Canada’s armed forces have fought against terror groups and are a part of Canada’s national security at home and abroad, a few Canadian soldiers have previously been linked to extremist violence and terror plots.

A former army reservist master corporal, Patrik Mathews, of Beausejour, Man., was sentenced in 2021 in the United States for his role in what the FBI called a plot to trigger a “race war” in the United States, alongside a white supremacist group called The Base.

In 2020, Corey Hurren, a serving member of the Canadian Armed Forces, carrying four guns and anger over the COVID-19 pandemic and restrictive measures, rammed his pick-up truck through the gates of Rideau Hall where Justin Trudeau, prime minister at the time, was living. He said he wanted to arrest Trudeau but was arrested himself instead.

Toronto’s Steven Chand was a former Canadian soldier convicted in the al-Qaida inspired Toronto 18 terror plot in 2006.

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