Brass involved in Proud Boys probe
Military feared Halifax incident could hurt recruiting
Navy brass was tracking an alt-right group of its own sailors like an enemy submarine last year after the men, identifying themselves as Proud Boys, disrupted a peaceful protest in Halifax.
Documents obtained under the Access to Information Act show high-ranking officers were keeping close tabs on the five men — four of them in the navy and one an army soldier — after they attempted to disrupt a July 1 ceremony meant to honour Canada’s missing and murdered Indigenous women near the statue of former governor Edward Cornwallis, infamous for his 1749 scalping proclamation aimed at Mi’kmaq people.
“This was brought to my attention on both Facebook and Twitter several days ago,” then-rear admiral John Newton said in an email two days later sent to several high-ranking army officers, including two brigadier generals, and the head of the navy, Vice-Admiral Ron Lloyd.
Newton goes on to say his public affairs officer gathered social media reports on the incident “which persisted all day Saturday as the men attended various Canada Day events.”
At that point, Newton’s note, like much of the documentation, is partly redacted.
“No matter, my intent is to deal directly with the members as their actions are impacting (Royal Canadian Navy) and (Canadian Armed Forces) strategic position and intent.”
The matter was deemed so serious even the country’s top soldier, Chief of Defence Staff Gen. Jonathan Vance, was being kept in the loop.
“Definitely inconsistent with our values,” Vance writes in a July 3 email to several senior sailors and soldiers.
“Will want, as a minimum, for them to be told (as soon as possible) that their actions are not acceptable and that they must stop.”
Around the same time, a note from Canadian Forces Integrated Command Centre to a whole boatload of high-ranking military officials includes links to several early stories on the Proud Boys incident.
On July 4, a note from Newton, who has since left the navy, informed multiple high-ranking officers and the defence minister that “members identified as ‘Proud Boys Halifax,’ a chapter of ‘Proud Boys Canada,’ stood amongst the Aboriginal protesters, dressed in a distinctive black shirt with one member carrying what looked to be a Union Jack flag. Proud Boys is an alt-right group, linked to white supremacy through logos on the members’ clothing and through online writings of the Proud Boys group. This group is likely a spinoff of a much larger counterpart in the U.S.A. — Proud Boys.”
Newton also says military police were investigating the incident to determine if legal measures were required.
Four of the five men who identified as members of the organization later returned to regular duties. One left the military of his own accord.