'Hateful and dangerous': Canada considers labeling Proud Boys as 'terrorist organisation'

In the aftermath of the US Capitol siege, Canadian officials are considering designating the far-right Proud Boys as a terrorist organisation alongside groups like Boko Haram, Isis and al-Qaida. In an interview with CTV media outlet, Canada’s public safety minister Bill Blair said that his office was closely watching and actively gathering intelligence about groups such as the Proud Boys. Blair called the group “white supremacists, antisemitic, Islamophobic and misogynist” and further added that they’re all “hateful and dangerous”. 

Blair said, “We’re working very diligently to ensure that where the evidence is available, where we have the intelligence, that we’ll deal appropriately with those organizations”. 

The minister’s office has not said when a determination on the group’s status as a terror group will be made, however, Canadian politicians, including the federal NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, have called on Canada to reassess the domestic terror threat within the country. Last week, Singh had also accused the Proud Boys of helping to execute “an act of domestic terrorism” when members of the group stormed the US Capitol. In a tweet, he had said that their founder is Canadian and they operate in Canada. He added that it was more urgent than ever that the government works to immediately ban and dismantle all hate organisations operating in the country. 

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Classified as “extremist organisation” by FBI

The Proud Boys group was founded in 2016 by the Canadian Gavin McInnes. They had first made headlines in Canada after five military reservists, dressed in the group’s black and yellow shirts, disputed a protest by the Indigenous community over a controversial statue. Later, the group was banned by social media networks Facebook and Instagram after they violated the platforms’ hate policies. Proud Boys are also classified as an “extremist organisation” by the FBI. 

The members of the group view US President Donald Trump as a key ally. During the presidential debates last year, when Trump was asked to condemn the group, he instead had told the Proud Boys to “stand back and stand by”. On January 6, members of the group were also present during the attack on the Capitol. Several social media videos and pictures showed Proud Boys colours, patches, flags and apparel affiliated with the group. 

Now, if Canada designates Proud Boys as a “terrorist organisation”, it could open up a range of criminal sanctions on the group. Its assets could be seized or forfeited by Canadian authorities, although the groups is unlikely to have large, hidden assets. According to The Guardian, one former intelligence analyst also said that the follow-on effects, however, could be more significant.

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