1. As the Emergencies Act Inquiry continues we need to remember that most of the individuals who participated in the #OttawaOccupation and border blockades are still planning further actions.
And that includes a "convoy" planned for Lethbridge in support of the Coutts arrestees.
2. This week occupation organizers such as Tamara Lich and Pat King appear before the Emergencies Act Inquiry, however we have to remember the EA wasn't only enacted due to the situation in Ottawa but also because of the border blockades.
3. Borders were shut down in BC, Alberta, Manitoba, and Ontario. The most economically damaging was likely the closing down of the Ambassador bridge but the longest and perhaps most dangerous blockade was at the Coutts, AB border crossing.
4. A number of weapons, as well as body armor, was found there. Four men (one of whom has links to Diagolon) were arrested and face charges including weapons and plotting to murder RCMP officers.
5. Almost immediately after the arrests there were accusations that the RCMP and "Trudeau" were framing the men who were arrested.
For example, here is Elliot Mcdavid claiming first that the weapons actually belonged to a gang called the Sons of God who were hiding in Coutts.
6. But moments later he claimed that the weapons were planted by the RCMP.
7. Mcdavid then goes on to share some of the wild (and debunked) conspiracy theories that prompted him and others to participate in this border blockade.
8. Now if the name Elliot Mcdavid is at all familiar to you it is because he was the person who accosted @cafreeland in Grande Prairie.
10. The narrative of "the Coutts Four" being political prisoners has continued since their arrest.
And on November 4, there is a plan for a "convoy" to go to Lethbridge in part to demand their release.
11. One of the organizing groups is called The Horseback Riders for Freedom. Their FB was created by someone referring to themselves as "Jade Black Panther" though their profile seems very new.
12.
13. I mean, can't pass up the merchandising opportunities, eh?
14. No mention of the actual charges the four men are facing.
No, they are being "persecuted" for holding down the fort... apparently.
Also, can't help noticing George Billings has "liked" this effort.
15. Others are also jumping on board including such as this Yellow Vester.
16. Probably not surprising, "Reddog" Mcdavid is also promoting the event and, as he and his brother were also at Coutts, will likely be participating.
17. Now one could hardly miss the calls for violence from the people who are commenting.
18. And if you are thinking that maybe Mcdavid missed these, well, it seems that he might be fine with calls for political violence based on this exchange.
19. And given their talk about firearms, it might be worth being a bit concerned.
20. Another person who was in Coutts and who is promoting the protest is Logan Murphy whom I've written about at length (do a search of my tweets).
21. A QAnon conspiracy proponent who was present at the Capitol in Washington D.C. on January 6, 2021, Murphy has now clearly fallen into the antisemitism void as well now.
22.
23. So I suppose we shall see what comes of their plans for Lethbridge this Friday and the numbers they manage to bring out.
While some who supported the protests have drifted away with the elimination of mandates, the die hards remain.
24. If you are at all interested, this "thread of threads" contains a information related to both the #OttawaOccupation as well as the border blockades, particularly Coutts and the fallout from the arrests.
1/ It's been a while since I've done a thread here, but the recent focus on Pat King got me to wondering what was up with his own Salacious Crumb, Tyson "Freedom George" Billings.
2/ Last time I looked at Billings he was a part of the efforts to set up a permenant camp outside Ottawa so there could be daily protests, though the original plan involved surrounding the police and arresting politicians.
Suffice to say it didn't go anywhere.
3/ Billings and Ron Clark soon headed home, but they both soon got involved in other protests including the anti-carbon tax protests occurring in the province. The numbers at these events have been small but that hasn't stopped from politicians from courting the fringes it seems.
1/ Though I'm not especially active these days, I'm still sometimes gobsmacked by some of the ridiculous (though sadly effective) rage farming by some on the right. Harrison Faulkner of "True North" is just a recent example of that.
2/ So a bit of background. Musical artist Karan Aujla won the 2024 TikTok Juno Fan Choice Award at the award ceremony this past weekend.
I think it was this weekend. Truth be told I don't pay a lot of attention to awards shows.
3/ It should be noted that Aujla has been in Canada for years emigrating as an orphan. He graduated from high school in Canada. The album was produced by a Canadian on a Canadian label.
1/ A couple of days ago self-proclaimed leaders of the "freedom movement" held a press conference in Ottawa which was about as unhinged as you might have expected.
2/ Apparently the person who set this up was Derek Noonan who was also one of the speakers.
That would be this guy and I shall get back to him shortly.
3/ Because these "freedom patriot" types are SUPER jealous of anyone getting even a tiny bit of the noteriety they seem to believe they deserve and are entitled to, Gordon Berry was not happy with the press conference.
1. Misinformation has always been a feature on Twitter but prior to Musk's ownership there appeared to be a minimal effort (very minimal) to counter it. Those days are clearly over.
Case in point, Theo Fleury shared this with his 285.8K followers today:
2. Before I go any further, no. This is not in fact true at all and a fact check would indicate that it isn't true.
Pictured here with Chrystia Freeland is her mother and sister.
3. When asked about the photo, the original poster said it was taken in 1967:
2. I am NOT going to post a clip covering every part of the video, but I do think there are a couple that are important.
First, Venne claims that he wasn't able to be himself and had to be careful how he spoke.
3. It appears that for people who complain about controlled narratives, Norm Blanchfield and Gordon Berry are really determined to control the narrative.