All three men also face new counts of possessing or using property – firearms, smoke grenades and other military equipment – for terrorist purposes.Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press
Three Quebec City men who were arrested this summer on allegations that they were part of an anti-government militia now face additional terrorism charges and their case will be sent straight to trial.
Federal prosecutors filed on Tuesday an indictment where they accuse army Master Corporal Marc-Aurèle Chabot of having directed others to commit acts on behalf of a terrorist group.
The new charges will proceed as preferred indictment, going to trial without testing the evidence in a preliminary inquiry.
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After they were arrested in July, MCpl. Chabot, along with former infantry reservist Simon Angers-Audet and former air force civilian cadet instructor Raphaël Lagacé, were initially charged with one count each of facilitating a terrorist activity.
That offence, Section 83.19(1) of the Criminal Code, would have made them liable to a maximum sentence of 14 years if they were convicted.
MCpl. Chabot now faces an additional charge of having instructed people to carry out activities for a terrorist group. If guilty of that offence, Section 83.21(1) of the Code, he could face a life sentence.
All three men also face new counts of possessing or using property – firearms, smoke grenades and other military equipment – for terrorist purposes. Under Section 83.04(b) of the Code, they would be liable to up to 10 years if convicted.
The three also face a series of weapons-related criminal counts.
MCpl. Chabot’s charges include illegal possession of high-capacity rifle magazines holding more than 30 rounds, military smoke grenades and an L3Harris AN/PEQ 15 laser aiming device with defaced serial number.
Mr. Angers-Audet is charged with improper storage of five firearms and possession of a prohibited gun magazine, smoke grenades and a military paraflare.
Mr. Lagacé is charged with improper storage of 50 firearms, and illegal possession of a prohibited firearm magazine, a class 3 laser pointer and an Aeternus third-generation night-vision device.
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Criminal cases typically go through a preliminary inquiry where a judge hears witnesses and decides whether the evidence warrants committing the accused to trial.
Two weeks of preliminary hearings had initially been scheduled in the case, starting Jan. 26. The direct indictment skips that phase of the proceedings.
The indictment identifies the alleged terrorist group as Hide & Stalk. Police affidavits filed in court allege that Hide & Stalk consisted mainly of active and former military members who shared extremist views, covertly conducted tactical training, and schemed to seize a plot of land.
A fourth man, artillery Corporal Matthew Forbes, had also been arrested at the same time as the other three in July. He was charged only with possession of prohibited firearms and military equipment and his court case will proceed separately.
Cpl. Forbes has been released on bail while the other three remain detained.
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According to warrant applications unsealed at the request of several media outlets, including The Globe and Mail, the four accused had been under surveillance since the spring of 2023, after a tip from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service to the RCMP.
Investigators followed the men, installed a GPS tracker on MCpl. Chabot’s pickup truck and used aerial surveillance. Police affidavits allege that MCpl. Chabot was a leader of Hide & Stalk.
The RCMP observed the group as the four accused and a dozen other men donned camouflaged gear and conducted shooting drills and other tactical exercises in quarries and wooded areas in Quebec and Ontario. The four accused live in the Quebec City area.
The affidavits alleged that, while he appeared under a pseudonym on a podcast, MCpl. Chabot held anti-government opinions and spoke about the Waco raid, when four American federal agents were shot dead by members of a cult. He warned against “coming after dudes that are prepared. … It’s gonna be another Waco.”
Other evidence against the four men remain under publication ban.