RCMP warns of dangers of online radicalization amid Quebec anti-government militia arrests

RCMP Staff Sgt. Camille Habel on the charges laid against multiple men for facilitating terrorist activity after starting the investigation in March 2023.

Amid the arrest of four people for allegedly trying to start an anti-government militia and seize land near Quebec City, the RCMP is warning of the dangers of online radicalization.

The federal police force arrested and charged four Quebecers — two of whom are active members of the Canadian Armed Forces, according to the Department of National Defence — who were allegedly involved in activities of “ideologically motivated violent extremism.”

Three of the individuals have been charged for taking concrete actions to facilitate terrorist activity and two have been charged with various offences related to weapons possession.

“We can never say that no one would have been involved, or that no one is planning the same kind of events in the country, because most of the recruiting and the radicalization is happening online, and the internet has no boundaries,” said RCMP Staff. Sgt. Camille Habel in an interview with CTV News Channel on Tuesday, when asked whether she’s confident only the four individuals were involved.

“It’s so omnipresent in our lives that we don’t know where someone might be radicalizing or falling for that ideology,” she added. “So, something could happen somewhere else, and that’s why we have teams all across the country that are working hard at ensuring our national security.”

The arrests come after searches conducted in January 2024 in the Quebec City area led to the seizure of 16 explosive devices, 83 firearms and accessories, approximately 11,000 rounds of ammunition of various calibres, nearly 130 magazines, four pairs of night vision goggles and military equipment.

The RCMP describes the charges as “serious” and adds that the accused were close enough to advancing their plot for the police to make a move.

In an interview with CTV News on Tuesday, terrorism and intelligence expert Jessica Davis said more than 75 per cent of the terrorist attacks that have taken place in Canada in the last two decades have been ideologically motivated.

“We’re not talking about al-Qaida or the Islamic State,” said Davis, a former CSIS analyst and current president of Insight Threat Intelligence. “We’re talking about anti-government, anti-Muslim, incel (involuntary celibates) types of terrorism that all fall into that category of ideologically motivated violent extremism.”

However, Davis added, only about 20 per cent of arrests over the same time period have been for ideologically motivated violent extremism.

“So, we’re really not disrupting this type of terrorism the same way that we’re disrupting that religiously motivated violent extremism,” she said. “And I think that really points to the pervasiveness of this kind of issue in Canadian society, and the difficulty that the RCMP has traditionally faced in getting a handle on it.”

The Canadian Armed Forces issued a statement Tuesday, saying they’re aware of the arrests and charges laid by the RCMP.

“Violent extremism remains a serious concern within Canadian and international society,” the statement says, adding Canadian Armed Forces members are strictly prohibited from joining or supporting any group that “relates to hate related criminal activities, and/or promotes hatred, violence, discrimination, or harassment.”

The statement also says the Military Police and the Canadian Army supported the RCMP-led investigation and continue to do so.

Both Davis and Habel said news of the four arrests is promising, with the RCMP Staff Sgt. calling it “a big win.”

“It’s something that is hard to investigate, but that really needs to be dealt with,” Habel said. “Having this investigation after a little over two years going to arrests and charges being laid is something we’re very proud and happy about.”

Davis, meanwhile, said the fact there hasn’t been a “completed terrorist attack” related to this type of extremism in the last few years is “really good news.”

“Arrests are a really, really good thing,” she said. “It means that our law enforcement and our security services are doing their jobs. It means that they have the tools and skills that we need to have them disrupt terrorist activity.

“The reality of it is, is that there’s always going to be a certain level of violent extremism in an open society,” she continued. “It’s just one of those things that happens.”

Davis — who called the 2024 search and seizure “probably amongst one of the largest disruptions and caches of equipment in any country around the world related to anti-government extremism” — said another factor is the lack of information or research on extremism within the Canadian military.

“I think there’s a certain element of permissiveness in the military around extremist ideas,” Davis said. “That’s something that I’d be concerned about.”

She pointed, as an example, to the military’s confirmation last week that it was investigating members of a private Facebook group that contained posts the Canadian Army’s commander called “racist, misogynistic, homophobic, and antisemitic.”

“I think the number one thing needs to happen is certainly getting researchers in the door and understanding the scope of the problem,” Davis also said. “Because I’m not confident that the military understands the scope of the problem.”

With files from CTV News’ Rachel Lau, Stephanie Ha and Mike Le Couteur