The RCMP says four people, including active members of the Canadian Armed Forces, are facing charges after allegedly plotting to 'forcibly take possession' of land in the Quebec City area. This RCMP handout image shows some of the military equipment seized.The Canadian Press
Canada’s national police have arrested four men, including two active members of the Canadian Forces, alleging that they diverted items from the military in hopes of using them to create an extremist militia and take over a plot of land north of Quebec City.
Marc-Aurèle Chabot and Raphaël Lagacé of Quebec City, along with Simon Angers-Audet from nearby Neuville, were each charged with one count of facilitating terrorism.
Corporal Chabot, 24, currently serves at CFB Valcartier, while Mr. Lagacé, 25, is a former Royal Canadian Air Cadets civilian instructor. Mr. Angers-Audet, 24, is a former member of the military, the Canadian Forces confirmed.
The three were also each charged with illegal possession of different quantities of guns and military gear. In total, it was 58 firearms and 70 high-capacity magazines, as well as military smoke grenades, laser aiming devices and night-vision goggles.
The fourth accused, Corporal Matthew Forbes, 33, of Pont-Rouge, Que., who also serves at Valcartier, faces charges that include unauthorized possession of firearms and illegally transferring night-vision and laser aiming devices.
The charges represent a landmark terrorism case, according to University of Calgary law professor Michael Nesbitt. “It’s the first time where we’ve seen active members of the Canadian military [allegedly] diverting their own weapons,” he said.
He said he is unaware of any similar cases in Canada leading to terrorism accusations. The scale of the alleged arsenal of seized weapons is likely unique in the context of any Canadian terrorism case, he added.
One of the accused allegedly created and administered an Instagram account with the aim of recruiting new members to the anti-government militia. That account was private, the RCMP said, adding that investigators would have it shut down soon.Supplied
The RCMP alleged in a statement that the men were planning to create an anti-government militia. “To achieve this, they took part in military-style training, as well as shooting, ambush, survival and navigation exercises. They also conducted a scouting operation,” the force said.
“A variety of firearms, some prohibited, as well as high-capacity magazines and tactical equipment were allegedly used in these activities.”
In a brief video hearing at the Quebec City courthouse Tuesday afternoon, Crown prosecutor Sara Moussa objected to the men’s release without adding further details. The four remain detained and their next court date is set for July 14.
The men were arrested at their homes early Tuesday. One of Cpl. Forbes’s neighbours said she was awakened by noise around 5 a.m. Police set off smoke grenades before officers in tactical gear entered, she said. The Globe and Mail is not naming her because she did not want public attention.
At Cpl. Chabot’s home, the front door was smashed around its handle, an apparent sign of a forced entry and disruptive police operation.
The investigation was pursued by the Quebec RCMP through the Integrated National Security Enforcement Team, which it leads in the province.
The Mounties said that the probe is connected to searches they conducted in January, 2024, in residences in the Quebec City area, which led to the seizure of 16 explosive devices, 83 firearms, 11,000 rounds of ammunition and other military equipment.
According to court documents, the alleged terrorism-facilitation scheme took place between 2021 and 2024 in Quebec City, Montreal and in Ontario, in Petawawa and Rolphton.
Cpl. Forbes was charged with unauthorized possession of a CZ Bren 2 MS rifle and a Glock 17 9-millimetre pistol.
Numerous firearms were seized by police officers during searches in January, 2024.Supplied
The court documents outlining the criminal charges also allege that between May, 2023, and September, 2023, in Quebec City and also in France and in the United States, he illegally transferred to other people two night-vision devices and an L3Harris AN/PEQ-15 laser target pointer.
Among Cpl. Chabot’s charges is an accusation of unauthorized possession of an L3Harris AN/PEQ-15 aiming device with the serial number filed off.
Mr. Lagacé is charged with illegally keeping 50 firearms and 47 magazines with a 30-round capacity.
None of the allegations have been tested in court.
Mr. Lagacé’s Facebook account shows that he received a commendation in 2019 after he performed CPR on his grandfather, who had suffered a heart attack. It was signed by Jean-Marc Lanthier, at the time the Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff.
More recent postings showed Mr. Lagacé holding rifles, wearing night-vision googles and complaining about Canada’s gun-control legislation.
The Mounties allege that the accused were motivated by an extremist anti-authority, anti-government ideology to set up an independent land.
In an interview with The Globe, RCMP Staff Sergeant Camille Habel, a member of the Integrated National Security Enforcement Team, said the accused allegedly diverted items from the military that were later recovered in the raids on residential homes in January, 2024.
She said authorities monitored the suspects for months after the raids. “At all times public safety and security was ensured.”
The RCMP also released images of seized items – including weaponry such as handguns, revolvers, assault rifles, magazines, vests and pouches.
Another image made public by the RCMP shows seven men wearing military fatigues in an outdoor area with weapons drawn. The force said the photo showed “military-style training in which the accused took part.”
The RCMP allege the accused took part in military-style training.Supplied
One of the accused administered an Instagram account “with the aim of recruiting new members to the anti-government militia,” the force said. That account was private, RCMP Corporal Erique Gasse said.
While the men are alleged to have held anti-authority views, the RCMP didn’t specify the group’s political leanings.
“When it comes to ideologically motivated extremisms, it’s not clear cut, so people can gather a few different ideologies and make it their own,” Staff Sgt. Habel said. “I guess the main thing about the ideology is anti-authority is in there. In this case, that is what it was. People can have a range of grievances from across the spectrum.”
Military police and the army provided support for the RCMP investigation, Brigadier-General Vanessa Hanrahan said in a statement. She is the Canadian Forces’ Provost Marshal, the head of the military police.
The allegation that an ideologically motivated Canadian militia was assembling military-grade firepower is alarming, said Carleton University professor Leah West.
“It’s the planned deliberate amassing of weaponry and skills that makes it dangerous,” she said. “That’s what the significance here is.”
Prof. West, a national-security expert and former Canadian Forces soldier, said the case is unlike any past Canadian terrorism prosecution she has seen.
She said that the considerable gap between the raids in January, 2024, and the arrests on Tuesday of active members of the Canadian Forces raises questions that authorities will need to address.
A 2022 report commissioned by the federal government found that membership of extremist groups within the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Forces was “growing” and “increasingly covert,” while technological advances made it more difficult to detect radicalized members.
The report was written by an advisory panel assembled by the minister of national defence at the time, Anita Anand, to examine systemic racism and discrimination.
“The suspected presence of members of extremist groups within DND/CAF is a pressing moral, social and operational issue,” the panel concluded.
With files from Steven Chase and Claire McFarlane