Newly released documents show federal intelligence officials believe the police dispersal of "Freedom Convoy" protesters in Ottawa last winter led to It indicates that it warned decision makers that it could trigger an “opportunistic attack” against A symbol of a politician or government.
February 24th "Threat Highlights" marked Secret/Canadian Eyes Only, extremist "influencers" with or without restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic would use the results of the protests for continued recruitment and propaganda. I was relaxing.
Ideologically motivated extremists are likely to use police enforcement "to facilitate violent reprisals or as further evidence of government 'tyranny'," he said. The four-page evaluation states:
Partially redacted memos obtained by The Canadian Press through the Access to Information Act took place before, during and after the protests that paralyzed downtown Ottawa for three weeks starting in late January. It is one of the analyzes of the Integrated Terrorism Assessment Center.
This center, overseen by the Canadian Security Intelligence Agency, brings together security and intelligence experts from various agencies to draft terrorist threat assessments based on classified and open source information. , shared with domestic and foreign partners.
Its purpose is to provide senior decision makers with the latest and most detailed information to assess overall threat and risk levels.
Many of the protesters occupied the streets of central Ottawa in heavy trucks, opposing COVID-19 health measures and the Liberal government of Justin Trudeau. The influx, which included some participants with roots in the far-right movement, caused many businesses to close their doors and aggravate residents with noise, diesel fumes and harassment.
On February 14, the government invoked the State of Emergency Law, which imposed temporary measures such as regulating and banning gatherings, designating safe places, instructing banks to freeze assets, and banning support for participants.
Authorities towed trucks, arrested more than 200 people, and charged hundreds.
Extremist ideologues have compared the government's tactics to those of foreign dictatorships, calling the police response "brutal" and the use of the emergency law as a federal "tyranny." described as further evidence, the Feb. 24 assessment noted. Some online agitation to incite violence has surfaced, with some implying that direct action against politicians, police and even their families was the only remaining option.
"This is what usually happens in this kind of movement," said Barbara Perry, director of the Center for Hate, Bigotry and Extremism at the Ontario Institute of Technology.
"When you resist them, they see that they are under attack, that their assessment is correct, that they are silenced, that they are alienated. and, as they like it, threatened by its tyrannical state.”
“Freedom convoys” and related protests at government buildings and border crossings are ideologically motivated. It has fostered anti-authoritarian sentiments among supporters of impersonated violent extremism (IMVE), said a Feb. 24 assessment.
“The perception that societal resilience is fragile or that government/police responses justify violent resistance can inspire single actors or small groups inspired by IMVE to An opportunistic attack could be made against the house or its symbol, the government,” the analyst concluded.
“IMVE advocates use anti-government sentiment and protest movements, whether related to the pandemic or other issues, in an attempt to undermine public trust and social cohesion and attract people. individuals who are vulnerable to their ideological causes.”
In the future, when public health restrictions are eased, protests may subside. No, but those who embrace violent extremism, especially those "who want to accelerate the demise of the current social and political order," are unlikely to be appeased, the assessment said. Said.
"The IMVE threat to politicians and symbols of government will continue for some time."
``They really set the stage and incited many to a broader distrust of all these institutions - governments, science, academics, the media. "So I think they'll continue to find ways to capitalize on the anxiety, the frustration they've created, or at least make it worse." } The Center for Terrorism Assessment began tracking convoys of trucks bound for Ottawa on January 26 and produced a secret assessment of possible opportunistic violence in the margins of protests.
A coordinated terrorist attack or planned raid on the Capitol or other federal property is unlikely, according to a February 3 analysis.
Bringing knives, firearms, homemade explosives, vehicles, etc. in public against his targets, including opposition groups and civilians.
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