RCMP charges Ottawa man with terrorism offences in groundbreaking arrest

The RCMP has arrested two people and charged one of them with three terrorism offences in a first-of-its-kind case.

The Mounties charged Patrick Gordon Macdonald, a 26-year-old Ottawa man, with participating in activity of a terrorist group, facilitating terrorist activity and commission of offence for terrorist group (wilful promotion of hatred). The RCMP said in a news release that the arrests came following information it received about the activities of the far-right Atomwaffen Division, a group Canada has listed as a terrorist entity.

"This case is the first in Canada in which an individual advocating a violent far-right ideology has been charged with both terrorism and hate propaganda," the RCMP said in the news release.

The force said it found evidence in its investigation that Macdonald allegedly helped create and distribute three propaganda videos for the Atomwaffen Division.

"This material was intended to promote the group and recruit members, and encourages the commission of terrorist activities," the news release said.

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https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/rcmp-changes-terrorism-atomwaffen-1.6897459