19-year-old Winnipeg man allegedly tied to neo-Nazi group 'not a crazy terrorist,' grandmother says

Arturo Chang · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 21, 2025 6:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 10 minutes ago

The grandma of a 19-year-old Winnipegger facing terrorism-related charges says she burst into tears erstwhile she heard the seriousness of the allegations against him.

Nevin Young was arrested connected Jan. 12 connected 26 counts of mischief nether $5,000 aft helium allegedly spray-painted antisemitic graffiti, including the initials of an planetary extremist group, on assorted structures wrong a Charleswood neighbourhood implicit a three-month play precocious past year.

On Monday, RCMP announced helium was facing 4 new charges related to violent activity.

Alice Nepinak said she was shocked erstwhile she heard the news.

"I burst into tears due to the fact that I cognize arsenic soon arsenic it turns national — I mean similar this is serious, superior stuff," she said.

Nepinak said Young has ADHD and planetary developmental delay, a diagnosis for children who are importantly delayed successful their development.

She said the 19-year-old was inactive attending precocious school, and wasn't expected to postgraduate until helium was 21 due to the fact that of accommodations owed to learning challenges.

"He's not a brainsick terrorist. He's conscionable a mediocre lad that has issues," she said.

"He doesn't person that full-grown-person maturity. And the imaginable to beryllium thrown successful jailhouse and locked distant for 10 years, you know, however bash you contend with that if you don't rather adjacent recognize however the satellite truly works?"

Investigation recovered nexus to violent group: RCMP

Young has been charged with facilitating violent activity, information successful enactment of a violent group, and 2 counts of committee of an offence for a violent group.

In an email Thursday, the RCMP said metropolis constabulary identified "material that falls wrong the nationalist information mandate," starring to the caller charges.

The RCMP said online radicalization is portion of the investigation, and that determination are links to the racially and ethnically motivated convulsive extremist radical M.K.Y., besides known arsenic Maniac Murder Cult. 

Several "M.K.Y." graffiti tags and swastikas were spray-painted over Charleswood. People successful the neighbourhood and members of Winnipeg's Jewish assemblage accidental the messages were hateful and made them consciousness unsafe successful their ain city.

Georgios Samaras, an adjunct prof of nationalist argumentation astatine King's College London who specializes successful extremism, said M.K.Y. is conscionable 1 successful a web of tiny groups of neo-Nazis often radicalized online, but trying to construe that into offline action.

Samaras said the groups "act similar cults."

"The radical who articulation specified groups … are radical disillusioned with society," helium said. "They're recruited due to the fact that they privation to subordinate themselves with violent activities that volition pb to [the] destabilization of society."

Groups people 'vulnerable'

Some of Young's neighbours said he was a quiescent kid who often wore a face-covering and a full brim hat. The neighbours said helium mostly stayed inside.

Another household member, whom CBC is not identifying due to the fact that helium fears for his safety, told CBC News "he conscionable sees [stuff] on the net that helium believes in." 

Evan Balgord, enforcement manager of the Canadian Anti-Hate Network, said groups similar M.K.Y. target the vulnerable.

"They're susceptible due to the fact that they're socially isolated. Maybe they're vulnerable due to the fact that they are not wholly well," helium said, adding that it "could beryllium for intelligence wellness reasons arsenic well."

An alleged M.K.Y. person from Georgia, who was arrested past year over accusations of planning and soliciting a wide casualty onslaught successful New York City, told an undercover FBI cause connected an online messaging platform that successful bid to articulation M.K.Y., "we inquire radical for brutal beating, arson/explosion oregon execution vids connected camera," according to U.S. indictment documents.

"The vandalism lawsuit … would really beryllium connected the lighter extremity of activities that they effort to promote," Balgord said. "It's wherever a idiosyncratic mightiness start doing things to get clout and attention."

'They're stepping connected his quality rights'

Young was re-arrested for the terrorism-related charges while helium was inactive successful custody astatine the Winnipeg Remand Centre.

Judy Kliewer, national Crown authoritative successful the case, said successful an email a continuation of his bail proceeding has been acceptable for April 7.

By that date, the 19-year-old volition person spent 85 days successful custody with nary determination connected his bail.

Nepinak said the authorities are "stepping connected his quality rights." She said that, during a telephone call, helium told his ma that helium wasn't eating, and was "not doing well."

"He was like, you know, upset and crying," Nepinak said. "He was trying to accidental goodbye to his mom, thinking … that he wasn't going to beryllium getting out."

None of the charges against Young person been tested successful court.