It was members of the Calgary-based far-right, Islamophobic street gang known as Urban Infidels Canada. It was formed by Steven "Heathen Steven" Lane after he left the Soldiers of Odin in mid-2019. He has been working on spreading the gang in Ontario and Sweden. (2/10)
Members of UIC attended a hate rally in Edmonton in March 2019. It was being put on by the Worldwide Coalition Against Islam and the Canadian Combat Coalition and it was planned to be 72-hours at the #ableg. (3/10)
The initial rally was stopped by 200 anti-racist activists, but the hate groups that came to Edmonton continued to have smaller rallies the following day, meeting up with yellow vesters. (4/10)
Steven Lane and Al Bitz, then members of SOO, and Carmelita Agdomar (then unaffiliated) were present. (Circled left to right.) (5/10)
After this rally, Lane and Bitz were also involved in swarming and assaulting an anti-racist counter-protester. Lane was briefly detained while EPS surrounded anti-racist protesters and let the attackers walk away. (6/10)
Elayne Waldrum entered the scene more recently when she became the partner of Al Bitz. She has been hosting UIC's pig roasts at her house and she recently appeared wearing a UIC Lady patched vest. (7/10)
Jordan Justein is the on again, off again president of the Toronto chapter of UIC. He is the guy who was asking where the Black people were at the Lacombe rally. He is extremely aggressive and violent and he has attacked a number of people in Toronto in recent months. (8/10)
For more on Justein, search @VestsCanada's account for his name. (9/10)
Lane, Bitz, and Justein have all shown that they are violent, but Lane and Justein are especially unhinged.
Lane, Bitz, and Carmelita were in Red Deer for the last incident. If you are going to #reddeer today, please stay safe. (10/10)
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There is a rumour spreading in far-right circles that busloads of "antifa" were going to Red Deer today.
This isn't true, of course, and we saw these rumours play out in various small towns in the US. But they want a spectacle for some reason. (1/9)
The irony is that antifa is portrayed as the outsiders who are coming to the community, yet it is these far-right "patriots" who consistently travel far and wide to attend these rallies. (2/9)
Now, I'm not down with the "outside agitator" narrative. People travel to attend rallies and marches. It... literally isn't anything.
When members of the far-right who are consumed by conspiracy theories and looking for a spectacle do it, they often create the spectacle. (3/9)
This event was being organized by Urban Infidels Canada, and its leader and founder Steven Lane was indeed present.[1] As was the band the Tequila Gold Band.[2]
The person hosting was also present, but who is this?[3]
(2/5)
The person hosting is Elayne Waldrum. Here she is sharing another variation of the poster.
And here is her LinkedIn. Her business E&E Naturals doesn't really seem to be functioning.
Whatever, she still invited a group of Q Anon believers and hate groups to Delacour. Cool. (3/5)
Who's that? Oh, that's just the far-right hate group Soldiers of Odin, some face masks with messaging like 'fuck antifa' and 'fuck silence,' and a Trump 2020 banner. (2/4)
And here's a quick glimpse of the meet and greet. (3/4)
In mid-June, @GronSheldon was posting in a Facebook group called Berta Bikers about stopping "antifa" and Black Lives Matter from having a rally in Spruce Grove, AB, on July 4th. (1/4)
After someone caught some flak and the post got some attention, Berta Bikers was locked down.
Sheldon is still calling bikers to Spruce Grove on July 4th. Now he's saying it's because he's concerned about outsiders causing trouble because of all the attention his post got. (2/5)
Antifa posted about it on Twitter. :(
Also he doesn't support Black Lives Matter because he believes "all lives matter." (3/5)
It's been a while since I checked in on Jeremy "JJ" Clarke, president of Mammoths Canada and former Alberta provincial president of the Northern Guard.
All right, you got a vest. Naturally. (1/4)
Interesting, and what I expected. (2/4)
Oh, maybe that last one was just a mistake. You know, how you accidentally insert a racist frame to your Facebook profile picture? Sure, sure. (3/4)