There was a "freedom" rally in Edmonton yesterday. May have been part of the Worldwide Rally for Freedom, but it's hard to say. (Follow @nolifeneet for more WWR info.)

The main question people seem to have have now that restrictions are mostly gone, what is the point? (1/11) To find an answer, look at the signs people carry. It's important to remember that almost any grievance is welcome in far-right protest. It's not necessarily coherent and you'll only give yourself a headache if you expect it to be. (2/11)

Apparently I started this account 3 years ago, sometime between scoping out the yellow vests and what was a planned 3-day white supremacist rally scheduled for late March 2019. (1/12) There was effective organizing against that rally and 2 of 3 events were shutdown or interrupted over the course of two days.

Eventually our numbers dwindled and there were multiple assaults after another attempt to counter. (2/12)

I was just scoping out some photos from the hospital protest in Edmonton on September 1st. Here are some comments on what I saw.

First, not surprised. These rallies definitely seemed to be PPC recruitment opportunities. (1/6) A sign that says "Nuremburg 2.0" because we are incapable of distinguishing atrocity from inconvenience. Wild to think that it was anti-fascists were accused of calling everyone nazis. (2/6)

Three updates.

First, Pat King finally gets mentioned and dismissed. There is beef between the Angry Albertan and Pat because AA at least accepts that COVID-19 exists. (1/4)

https://twitter.com/EdmontonAgainst/status/1432885844419833863

Next, we have memes from QAnon groups being shared. This argument was used as a gotcha last year, but it misses the point that no method is 100% effective.

Also more people have not died from the vaccine than the virus. (2/4)

KJJ Show (08/31/21) - Chris Sky and Pat King were guests tonight, so I had to subject myself to the show.

A disagreement over the police. Chris says they need to support the cops because the pig union invited him to speak at a rally. (1/10) Chris believes the election is distracting people from fighting against vaccine passports. Also discusses being called "controlled opposition," but he seems to think being out on bail 6 times negates this claim. (2/10)

Looks like we have a combination of the Angry Albertan and AHS employees working together on Telegram, so that's cool.

Also in response to the Angry Albertan... well, I never.

@AHS_media @_AUPE_ @antihateca @laurby @UnitedNurses @HSAAlberta

Because so many people have been recruited to a death cult, there was a protest outside of the school board in Sherwood Park, AB (just east of Edmonton).

Far-right clowns were in attendance, of course. (1/4) Peter Szeles, fresh off a surely precedent-setting L. (2/4)

https://twitter.com/coandmorbid/status/1432387857134411779?s=20

In late October 2020, the Edmonton Proud Boys appeared at a People Vs. Predators rally.

One member of this @splcenter-designated hate group is John-Clayton Wilson/Jay Wilson/JC Wilson/JC2theW. (1/10)

@DoxerPb @RuthlessWe @AntifaGarfield @AntiFashGordon @AntifascistF12 JCW is an artist and performer, having done trapeze work. He also operated a YouTube channel, which provides men's rights activist analysis of feminism and the LGBTQ+ community, despite being a member of that community. (2/10)

Who was harassing an anti-racism event in Lacombe yesterday? For the sake of typos and consolidation, let me tell you again!

Steven Lane, Al Bitz, Carmelita Agdomar, Jordan Justein, and Elayne Waldrum (1/10)

#abpoli

@VestsCanada @ARCCollective @CBCEdmonton @ActionCentralAB 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)

Wondering who showed up to 118 ave and 82 street last night in #yeg under the guise of being patriots defending the country?

We have ID'd two so far.

@VestsCanada @ARCCollective @antihateca Cody Fredrickson believes in the Q Anon conspiracy and he was recently in Red Deer harassing an anti-racism event.

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)

On August 22nd, there was a pig roast planned to unite various hate groups and so-called patriot groups.

There were a number of variations of the poster, but the event is clearly anti-Muslim. (1/5)

@VestsCanada @ARCCollective @YYCantiracist @JaneQCitizen @YQLAnarchists 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)

Currently scoping out that convoy to Red Deer.

According to Izidor, it sounds like there were 20 vehicles total.

Here's an event poster. (1/4)

@VestsCanada @ARCCollective @AntifaDeer 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)

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)

#abpoli

@ARCCollective @VestsCanada

https://mobile.twitter.com/EdmontonAgainst/status/1273121476032507905

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)

@ARCCollective @VestsCanada

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)

Pat King, formerly of the duo Rollin' with Pat and Jay and then a member of the western separatist crowd, rolled into Innisfail on June 13th to check out a Black Lives Matter rally. (1/15)

A thread.

@ARCCollective @VestsCanada

Part 1: Pat rolls up on his motorcycle. It seems he is immediately recognized by protesters. His supporters are chanting "all lives matter" because of course they are.

He revs his engine to try to drown out the crowd... (2/)

Whyte Ave and Calgary Trail blocked.

#BlackLivesMatter March heading west down Whyte now.

#BlackLivesMatteryeg

First event of the day. Probably close to one thousand people so far. Oh, we got an 'all lives matter' sign.

Far right infighting: End the Lockdown Alberta Edition

There has been some tension in this group since the second protest, which actually brought out some numbers.

The creator of the Facebook group has had to defend herself a number of times. (1/)

@ARCCollective @VestsCanada May 8th. Photo of sticker made by her company, S&M Diesel, included for posterity. (2/)

Hello again! Today marks another anniversary in Edmonton's antifascist history.

Unfortunately, it is the anniversary of the day protesters were assaulted by a gang of fascists.

@VestsCanada @ARCCollective @YQLAnarchists @YYCantiracist @antifaintl @antihateca The previous evening, Antifascists shut down a rally that was supposed to last 3-days at the legislature.

The next day, the fascists who were visiting joined the yellow vests for their weekly 11am gathering. This rally was effectively disrupted and ended by anti-fascists.

I've been meaning to make a list about the decline of the yellow vests in Edmonton in 2019.

In no particular order, let's begin.

@VestsCanada @ARCCollective @CCAR780 @JaneQCitizen @YYCantiracist

(1/) 1. Hate group affiliations: we realized early on that hate groups were present at these rallies and we did our best to let the organizers know. In turn, we were called a hate group.

After harassing a mosque, however, the Wolves of Odin were denounced. (2/)