Thread by @ARCCollective

1. Yesterday Chrystia Freeland and her staff were verbally harassed and threatened by this fella.

2. I'm going to do a bit of a dive into Elliot Mcdavid soon, but first in what was something that was totally expected, there are those who are suggesting the event was "staged" by the Deputy Prime Minister and the Liberal Party as per these representative examples.

3. I write "expected" because any incident in which someone on the right who engages in this type of harassment or worse (I'm thinking of the Quebec mosque murders) the claim that soon follows from this crowd that it was a "false flag" and/or a setup.

4. Now there are two longer clips of the video taken from two different individuals. This one for example I found on Telegram.

5. There were also the anticipated approving comments from people who live in a bubble and for whom there can be no doubt that people all agree with them... except that most of us live in a realm I refer to as "reality."

6. The second video is perhaps even more disturbing.

7. So let's take a closer look at Elliot Mcdavid, the individual suspected of harassing and threatening Deputy PM Freeland and her staff.

8. I suspect it won't surprise y'all to learn that Elliot Mcdavid was involved in the events of February. While he was not present in the nation's capital during the #OttawaOccupation he and others held their won supporting event in Alberta. This clip is from February 2, 2022.

9. This clip where he speaks to a friendly police officer is from February 6.

10. On June 26, Elliot Mcdavid posted a video in which he promoted a planned protest aiming to shut down the border crossing between BC and Alberta.

There is a lot of "we need to take the country back" talk here and significant sovcit woo.

11. While this is an American source it still does a very good job of explaining what the sovcit movement is as well as why it is dangerous.

splcenter.org/fighting-hate/…

12. A phenomenon amongst these groups is the romanticism of times past when life was good, mothers stayed at home, and people were truly free.

Oh, and it was okay to swat around children.

It is a time they believe is lost but which can return if only "people stand."

13. More "we have to take the country back" from people who he suggests aren't qualified to run the country but who are put in place to destroy the country by spending money and "bringing in the immigrants" thus "destroying the moral fabric" of the country.

14. Proclaiming himself a patriot, he suggests that your job isn't important and he is willing to loose it all in the struggle that he has been convinced he is a part of.

15. Here we have the by now ubiquitous anti-vaxx and anti-Covid conspiracies as well as the repeated and erroneous claim that Covid hasn't been isolated in a lab and thus doesn't exist.

16. I don't think I need to tell y'all that this claim isn't true, but for those who want a link to debunk the claim here you go.

sunnybrook.ca/research/media…

17. We have more sovcit woo, a claim that because they are soverign that they can't be told what to do, and a suggestion that they should be able to have as many bullets as they want.

Yeah... I'm not sure I like the idea of Elliot Mcdavid being armed.

18. Here he claims Venezuela was the richest country in the world until "they" took the guns from the people.

I'm going to go out on a limb and state that Venezuela was not the wealthiest country in the world at any point.

19. Urging people to stand together united, Mcdavid states that they will first "take back" Alberta and then they will "take back" Canada.

20. I think I prefer Leonard Cohen's version of this story.

21. In addition to the stream of conspiracies and "take the country back" talk you should know that Elliot Mcdavid really likes his sign.

22. Here is gets to the point where he claims that he would rather die on his feet than kneel before the government stating he bows to only one person.

You know where this is going already.

23. By the way, this observation should really cause the "we are living in a communist, tyrannical, dictatorship!" crowd to reconsider their stance, but that would require introspection.

24. In talking about how they will win and how their enemies are evil, Mcdavid continues to promote the July 1 event promising that it will be like Coutts, but better.

25. I'm not sure that would inspire a great deal of confidence for most of us.

cbc.ca/news/canada/ca…

26. Finally, while allowing that "some" UCP politicians are on their side, Elliot Mcdavid says they will get rid of all governments.

He finishes the video urging supporters to attend the events at the border on July 1 where they will have fun and kick ass.

27. An observation about the claims that Elliot Mcdavid and people like him have to unquestioned right to do whatever they want with no interference.

It seems that those people they would block and inconvenience don't have the same rights.

28. And isn't that really the crux of the matter? The "patriots" don't want to be told how to live their lives, but very much want to dictate and determine how others live theirs.

29. That, and protesting seems to have become an ends unto itself for people like Elliot Mcdavid.

30. And by the way, considering his rant about immigration contributing to the destruction of the moral fiber of the country, one has to wonder what it means when Mcdavid says that Dr. Tam "looks" like a traitor.

Of course, he share's a "Rebel Media" video.

31. UPDATE.

Someone sent me a link to the full video.

It seems clear that Elliot Mcdavid and those with him were actively looking for the Deputy PM.

32. They first try to bully the receptionist. Mcdavid then attacks once they see her.

33. You can tell a lot about the character of people by what they voice their support for.

34. But as loathsomely as these representative posts are, the ones like this one are of the greatest concern.

35. And if one thinks that Mcdavid is an extreme outlier in Alberta, this is another person's truck.