Military member charged with terrorism warned of a Waco-style massacre, court docs say

New court documents show, an extensive police investigation into the group, spanning several months, following information from CSIS. Abilgail Bimman has more.

New court documents show that one of the three Quebec military members accused of terrorism by the RCMP last month allegedly warned of a Waco-style massacre.

In July, the RCMP arrested four individuals for allegedly attempting to “forcibly take possession of land” and start an anti-government “community” north of Quebec City.

The documents show just how extensive the police investigation was, involving wiretapping, undercover agents, informants, and even aircraft to surveil their subjects over several months following information from Canada’s spy agency, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service.

The documents were obtained by CTV News and other media who argued for them to be released by the court.

According to information contained in search warrants that have now been unsealed, the four accused trained in an area north of Quebec City and practised for an invasion.

In July 2022, “they were … trained to slit throats and shoot people in the head,” according to a search warrant, which said the group had access to automatic weapons, including AR-15s, some high-capacity magazines, night vision goggles, drones, and reconnaissance cameras.

Last July, the RCMP charged four men with ties to the Canadian military, accusing them of being involved in activities of “ideologically motivated violent extremism.”

Three of them were charged with facilitating terrorist activity.

‘It’s gonna be another Waco’

According to the documents, on June 14, 2023, the @hide_n_stalk Instagram user, identified by authorities as co-accused Marc-Aurèle Chabot of Quebec City, appeared as a guest on a podcast and discussed being an active member of the Canadian Armed Forced (CAF).

The search warrant highlighted what the author described as “striking excerpts that are open to interpretation in relation to accelerationist and/or far-right ideology.” The document describes accelerationism as “a belief held by white nationalists that accelerating the collapse of society through violence would lead to a white ethno-state.”

In one excerpt, the Instagram user discusses grievances with Canadian firearm regulations and expressed anti-government sentiments, notably when he said “if we take out all the government bulls-it and the overreach and all that stuff, the big whole bad system.”

The document states Chabot went on to say, “[Pierre] Poilievre is still bought by the same people. They are all lying. That’s why building a community is important cuz you cannot trust those bastards. I’ve seen how government works and I don’t want to have more of it.”

Chabot allegedly expands on the topic by saying: “So whatever the f-ck they try to pull, trying coming after dudes that are prepared, are tight, run their sh-t well, you can’t. It’s gonna be another WACO.”

The court document identified the other co-accused and their ties to the military.

Cpl. Matthew Forbes, 33, of Pont-Rouge, Que., is an active CAF member with the 5th Light Artillery Regiment (RALC) based in Valcartier. He has been on active duty since Oct. 28, 2016, and has served on a NATO mission in Latvia.

Simon Angers-Audet, 24, of Neuville, Que., is a reservist in the CAF infantry. He served with the Voltigeurs de Québec regiment and did not participate in any missions.

Raphaël Lagacé, 25, of Quebec City is a former civilian instructor with the Royal Canadian Air Cadets.

Three of the co-accused were denied bail on Aug. 6

Forbes was granted bail under a lengthy list of conditions, including that he wear a GPS tracking bracelet.

In 1993, the U.S. federal government and state law enforcement confronted a religious cult known as the Branch Davidians, in Waco, Texas.

Authorities raided a compound after suspecting the group of stockpiling illegal weapons. What ensued was a 51-day standoff that resulted in 86 deaths.