‘Proud Boys’ servicemen returned to regular duty

HALIFAX— No criminal charges will be laid against five so-called “Proud Boys” who disrupted a Mi’kmaq ceremony in downtown Halifax on Canada Day, the Royal Canadian Navy says.

Rear Admiral John Newton said Thursday that an investigation has wrapped up with no further actions taken against the servicemen, although they remain on an unspecified term of probation.

“If they fail . . . they are gone. This is not lightweight punishment,” he told reporters.

The servicemen had been relieved of their duties and reassigned to other jobs, pending the results of the military police investigation into the incident at a statue of Halifax’s controversial founder, Edward Cornwallis.

Newton said one of the servicemen has since left the Forces, but the others are being returned to their operational units and regular duties. He said the serviceman who left had initiated the process well before the July 1 incident.

Rebecca Thomas, who is Mi’kmaq and Halifax’s poet laureate, said she was disappointed at the “lack of consequences” for the service members.

“It could be an indication on how the Armed Forces see Indigenous ceremony,” she said. “I would like to hope that these individuals have changed their feelings on Indigenous peoples, but I don’t have any proof to that effect,” she said.

The “Proud Boys” was founded in the U.S. by Gavin McInnes, a Canadian who helped establish Vice Media and is now a right-wing pundit.

A Facebook post from its Canadian chapter on Thursday struck a triumphal tone, saying, “We win, our brothers in the Halifax 5 are returning to active military duty with no charges, let the SJW (Social Justice Warriors) tears pour,” it said. “Proud of our boys.”