In late summer 2023, the RCMP made headlines with the arrests of two men in Ottawa and Kingsey Falls, Quebec, on terrorism and hate propaganda charges. The arrests marked a significant victory in a three-year investigation by the Integrated National Security Enforcement Team targeting the neo-Nazi group Atomwaffen Division.

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One of the men arrested was Patrick Gordon Macdonald, 26, on charges of participating in and facilitating terrorist activities and the wilful promotion of hatred tied to his alleged involvement with the Atomwaffen Division. His apprehension followed the previous year’s arrest of a teenager in Windsor, Ontario, similarly charged with terrorism for his involvement with the same extremist group.

Macdonald is out on bail after his parents posted $40,000 in sureties and must stay at their home under strict conditions.

The case against Macdonald is unprecedented in Canada, marking the first time an alleged far-right extremist was prosecuted for both terrorism and hate propaganda.