Alleged head of extremist group one of two charged after anti-mask protests in N.S.

HALIFAX — A police investigation of anti-mask protests outside the home of Nova Scotia's chief medical officer has led to charges of criminal harassment against two people, including a man described as a leader of a far-right extremist group.

The RCMP issued a statement Wednesday confirming that 36-year-old Jeremy Mitchell MacKenzie of Pictou, N.S. — who reportedly heads the group Diagolon — and 31-year-old Morgan May Guptill of Cole Harbour, N.S., have also been charged with intimidation of a health professional, mischief and making harassing phone calls.

The Mounties say there were protests Sunday, Monday and Tuesday outside a home on the street where Dr. Robert Strang lives in the Fall River area, east of Halifax.

Published reports showed a handful of people with placards gathering on the street to oppose COVID-19 health protection measures. Videos that MacKenzie posted online show him pointing at Strang's home and hurling insults. Strang publicly complained about the protests after receiving a number of crank calls in the early morning hours.

The RCMP said MacKenzie and Guptill were arrested Tuesday night by Halifax Regional Police in the suburb of Dartmouth.

MacKenzie, who has a presence on social media as “Raging Dissident,” has had a previous run-in with the law. He is scheduled to appear in court in May after police said a search turned up five restricted firearms, prohibited magazines, body armour and ammunition inside his residence in Pictou, N.S.

According to an RCMP search warrant, dated Jan. 22, 2022, police started an investigation on Jan. 10 after a video was posted online showing a man waving a handgun in a “reckless manner” at an address in Whycocomagh, N.S.

Investigators allege the handgun in the video had an overcapacity magazine. The Mounties have said they plan to file charges including careless use of a firearm and unauthorized possession of a prohibited device.

MacKenzie has denied the allegations, saying he can't remember any of the events because he was too drunk, according to the search warrant.

The document includes a statement from an RCMP officer who said MacKenzie is a 14-year military veteran who served in Afghanistan and has post-traumatic stress disorder.

Elizabeth Simons, deputy director of the Canadian Anti-Hate Network, said MacKenzie first came to the attention of her group in 2020 when he staged a protest against a discussion in Halifax about child soldiers, which included input from Omar Khadr, a Canadian who was detained at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba for 10 years.

At the time, MacKenzie had started a livestreaming network he called the Plaid Army, which promoted allegedly antisemitic and anti-Muslim views, she said.

“He was regularly producing livestreams that were … quite white nationalist in nature,” said Simons, whose non-partisan, non-profit organization tracks hate networks and movements across Canada.

According to the Canadian Anti-Hate Network, the Plaid Army eventually transformed into MacKenzie's notion of Diagolon, a country that he says will one day include provinces and U.S. states aligned in a diagonal fashion between Alaska and Florida. MacKenzie has also created a flag for his imaginary country, which features a white diagonal line against a black background.

“Ultimately, they're kind of like a neo-fascist militia,” Simons said, adding that MacKenzie promotes an “accelerationist” agenda that calls for a civil war that will see the demise of communists, immigrants and all liberal-minded people.

“Ultimately they want to remove their enemies and gain political power.”

More recently, MacKenzie was spotted at anti-government rallies in Ottawa in late January and early February, which paralyzed the city's downtown for three weeks.

As well, the Canadian Anti-Hate Network was quick to point out that the Diagolon symbol was spotted on gear seized last month at a border blockade in Coutts, Alta., where a large cache of weapons was seized and four men were later charged with conspiracy to commit murder.

“I think the larger danger is in the network that (Mackenzie) inspires,” Simons said. “When you tell a base of thousands of people that there's no other way forward but through violence, you can't be shocked when people act on that.”

MacKenzie and Guptill appeared briefly by video in Dartmouth provincial court on Wednesday afternoon, and they remain in custody until their next appearance Friday.

The Canadian Anti-Hate Network has reported that MacKenzie denies accusation of racism and antisemitism.

Earlier in the week, Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston said his government would be looking into ways to better protect those who serve the province.

“I don't know that I have a strong enough word to express my emotions over people protesting at the home of the chief medical officer,” Houston said Monday.

“The service he's provided over the past two years … at great personal sacrifice, to protest as his home is completely inappropriate.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 23, 2022.

Michael MacDonald, The Canadian Press