In the days before the so-called Freedom Convoy arrived in Ottawa, which began for several weeks in the Canadian capital and created a series of copy-catastrophes, the coalition government was warned that violent groups were heavily involved in the protests.
An intelligence test – prepared by the Integrated Terrorism Assessment Center (Itac) of Canada and identified by the Guardian – warned in late January that it was “possible” that extremists were involved and that the level of protests could still create “point and opportunity.”
The survey provides an initial realistic view of how law enforcement and intelligence agencies have assessed the Canadian organization’s threat of vaccination and conspiracy theory.
“We knew these people were coming,” said a coalition government source, who revealed that Security Intelligence Service Canada – Canada’s leading intelligence service, of which ITAc is a member – had called for the involvement of extremist groups and individuals in a formal forum.
Intelligence reports also indicate that clear warnings were sent to Ottawa police before the convoy arrived in the capital. City police have become the subject of heated debate over whether to do more to prepare for, or prevent, the work.
Itac reported that convoy supporters “encouraged civil war”, called for violence against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and said the protest should “be used as a Canadian ‘January 6′”, referring to the US Capitol attacks.
An earlier report, dated 27 January, the ITAc concluded that “joint, complex terrorist or planned attacks on Parliament or other organs of state are not possible”.
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But it does conclude that the possibility of violence remains a reality.
“While activists have declared this an act of peaceful protest, some violent Canadian activists took part in the rally to express their intentions,” read a January article. “Proponents of her case have been working to make the actual transcript of this statement available online. Proponents of her case have been working to make the actual transcript of this statement available online.
The survey warns that protesters, as well as those who may be extremist, “could use unusual skills, such as trucks, goods and fuel, to disrupt infrastructure”.
In excess, the report warned that the return of January 31 to Parliament “could encourage a group of dedicated protesters to increase their protest in Ottawa”.
Included in the report is a meme, widely distributed in the early days of the convoy, which shows a map with a circle around Ottawa and reads “a place of endless gridlock until freedom is restored”.
As work dragged on for the second week, the ITAc released another report on 8 February.
“All events are always peaceful, with minimal conflict,” it reads. “However, the violent online chatter and physical presence of ideologues in some circles remains a matter of concern.”
The report specifically mentions QAnon man Romana Didulo, who calls himself the “Queen of Canada”, who ordered his followers to kill health workers and politicians. He and some of his followers appeared in Ottawa on this mission, waving flags representing his empire.
Itac also drew attention to a series of other protests across the country, including the city of Quebec where “the QAnon flag was honored, with the dangerous group La Meute claiming that about 100 members had taken part in the protest.” La Meute, or The Pack, is one of Quebec’s most visible and powerful anti-Islamic organizations. It also claimed to have sent supporters to the Ottawa protests, the report said.
In a second report, the ITAc continued to investigate the possible outbreak of the January 6 style attack, but began warning that “the violence-related situation involved an individual or small group using easily accessible weapons and equipment such as knives, rifles, explosives and homemade vehicles. civil society against soft principles, including opposition groups or members of the general public. ”
Earlier this week during a roadblock on the Coutts border in Alberta, police arrested four men accused of plotting to assassinate police and civilians.
On Wednesday, the Minister of Community Safety, Marco Medicino, confirmed that some of those arrested had links with some extremists in Ottawa. Some of the men who were arrested are believed to be members of a suicide group known as Diagolon.
Itac reports are based largely on open source information, which means that information already exists in the public domain, as well as legal sources – the institution does not recognize individuals or conduct their own investigations.
The purpose of the ITAc is to provide various levels of local law with reliable information about emerging threats, said Stephanie Carvin, a former intelligence analyst at the Canadian Security Intelligence Service who now teaches at the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs at Carleton University in Ottawa. .
“It looks like they can see the nature of the event, and who’s coming to the event,” he said. However, analysts appear to have missed out on some of the extremes of the convoy’s leadership, Carvin said. “It was an organization led by activists in the beginning, and we should not be surprised when they turn to cheap tactics.”
Itac’s warning that only a dogmatic few would brave the Ottawa cold for parliament’s return on 31 January proved to be a significant underestimation. Yet, even that warning wasn’t heeded. The deputy chief of the Ottawa police service said in early February that they planned for “a potentially weekend-long demonstration”, and were caught off guard when the convoy parked in front of Parliament.
“Was the problem that he didn’t have the information?” Carvin said. “Or was the problem that they just don’t take white supremacy seriously?”
Carvin said intelligence agencies had been briefing the Canadian government as far back as late December on the possible threat posed by the convoy.
“[The protest leaders] were exceptionally clear on what they wanted to do, and how they were going to go about doing it,” she said.