Newly unsealed documents show that federal intelligence officials warned decision-makers that the police dispersal of “Freedom Convoy” protesters in Ottawa last winter could provoke an “opportunistic attack” on a politician or government symbol.
The February 24 “highlighted threat,” marked Secret/Canadian Eyes Only, also warned that “influential” extremists would take advantage of the outcome of the protests to continue recruiting and propaganda, regardless of whether restrictions were eased by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ideologically motivated extremists would likely use the police app “to encourage violent revenge or as further evidence of government ‘tyranny’,” the four-page assessment said.
The partially redacted memo, obtained by The Canadian Press through the Access to Information Act, was among several analyzes by the Integrated Terrorism Assessment Center produced before, during and after the protests that paralyzed downtown Ottawa for three weeks from the end of January.
The centre, overseen by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, brings together security and intelligence professionals from various agencies to write terrorist threat assessments, based on open source and classified information, to share with partners at home and abroad. Foreign.
The goal is to provide key decision makers with the latest and most detailed information to assess the overall level of threat and risk.
Demonstrators, many with large trucks, took to the streets of downtown Ottawa to protest against COVID-19 health measures and the liberal government of Justin Trudeau. The influx, including some participants who had roots in the far-right movement, caused many businesses to close their doors and exasperated residents with noise, diesel fumes and harassment.
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On February 14, the government invoked the Emergencies Law, which allowed for temporary measures including the regulation and prohibition of public gatherings, the designation of safe places, the ordering of banks to freeze assets, and the prohibition of support for participants.
Authorities towed trucks, arrested more than 200 people and filed hundreds of charges.
Extremist ideologues described the police response as “brutality” and the use of the Emergencies Law as further evidence of federal “tyranny,” comparing the government’s tactics to those of foreign dictatorships, the Feb. 24 assessment noted. He added that various incitements to violence had surfaced online, some of which implied that the only option left was direct action against politicians, the police and even their families.
Intelligence report flagged possible ‘violent revenge’ after #Ottawa protest shutdown. #CDNPoli #FreedomConvoy #CSIS #IMVE #EmergenciesAct
“That’s something that often happens with these kinds of movements,” said Barbara Perry, director of the Center on Hate, Prejudice and Extremism at Ontario Technological University.
“When you reject them, they use that as further evidence that they are the ones being targeted, that their assessment is correct, that they are being silenced, that they are the ones being marginalized and threatened by that tyrannical state as they like to call it. “.
The “Freedom Convoy” and related protests at government buildings and border crossings fueled anti-authority sentiments among supporters of ideologically motivated violent extremism, or IMVE, according to the February 24 assessment.
“The perceived notion that social resilience is fragile, or that the government or police response justifies violent resistance, could inspire a lone actor or a small IMVE-inspired group to make an opportunistic attack on a political figure or symbol of the government,” the analysts concluded. .
“IMVE supporters will continue to encourage and capitalize on anti-government sentiment and protest movements, whether related to the pandemic or other issues, in an attempt to degrade public trust and social cohesion, and attract vulnerable people to their ideological cause.” . .”
Future easing of public health restrictions could calm the protest movement, but those who embrace violent extremism, particularly those who “want to hasten the demise of current social and political orders, are unlikely to be placated,” the evaluation said.
“IMVE’s threats to political figures and government symbols will persist for the foreseeable future.”
The national capital would see follow-up protests, including a procession in late June that included many of the figures involved in the winter events.
“They have really set the stage and brought more people around a broader mistrust of government, science, academics, the media, all those institutions,” Perry said. “So I think they’re going to continue to find ways to exploit those anxieties, exploit those grievances that they’ve helped create, or at least exacerbate.”
The terrorism assessment center began tracking the truck convoy heading to Ottawa on January 26, producing a secret assessment that pointed to the possibility of opportunistic violence on the sidelines of the protest.
A February 3 analysis said a coordinated terror attack or planned assault on Parliament Hill or other federal sites was unlikely.
“The most likely scenario related to IMVE involves an inspired lone actor using available weapons and resources such as knives, firearms, homemade explosives, and vehicles in public areas against easy targets, including opposition groups or members of the public.”
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on August 17, 2022.