'Diagolon' leader Jeremy MacKenzie fires lawyer during Saskatoon court appearance

Jeremy MacKenzie denied release after bail hearing Jeremy MacKenzie, the founder of 'Diagolon,' remains in custody after being denied release following a bail hearing in Saskatchewan.

The founder of the online group 'Diagolon,' fired his lawyer Thursday at Saskatoon Provincial Court in proceedings about gun related charges.

Jeremy MacKenzie, 36, was charged with assault, pointing a firearm and using a restricted weapon in a careless manner, and mischief in connection with an alleged assault near Viscount, Sask., in November 2021 — a community roughly 75 kilometres southeast of Saskatoon.

He was denied bail at a hearing last Friday.

Before his lawyer opened the proceedings by seeking leave to withdraw, the Crown prosecutor admonished members of the public telling everyone not to record anything inside the court room because an audio recording of the bail hearing was shared online, which is forbidden under a publication ban.

Mackenzie was arrested on Sept. 28 in Cole Harbour, N.S. on a Canada-wide warrant issued by Saskatchewan RCMP in July.

Diagolon, the group Mackenzie leads, is described in a 2022 House of Commons report as an ideologically motivated and violent extremist organization.

It originally started as an online joke about a fake nation state but has since come to attract thousands of followers rallying against authority and government control.

Multiple people arrested at the Coutts, Alta. border crossing during the February convoy protest allegedly have ties to Diagolon. Physical threats to RCMP officers' safety led to raids on trailers near the protest area, which resulted in the seizure of a cache of weapons and body armour.

RCMP are also investigating Mackenzie for comments made last month during a livestream about raping the wife of federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre.

Mackenzie is scheduled to appear back in court on Oct. 27.