RCMP charges military members with trying to create 'anti-government militia' and seize land

Catharine Tunney · CBC News

· Posted: Jul 08, 2025 9:08 AM EDT | Last Updated: 13 minutes ago

Three men look a coercion complaint for allegedly readying to make an anti-government militia and seize onshore successful Quebec, according to the RCMP.

In a quality merchandise Tuesday morning, the Mounties said the radical was progressive successful an alleged ideologically motivated convulsive extremism plot "intending to forcibly instrumentality possession of onshore successful the Quebec City area" and included active members of the Canadian Armed Forces.

Three men — Marc-Aurèle Chabot, 24, of Quebec City; Simon Angers-Audet, 24, of Neuville; and Raphaël Lagacé, 25, of Quebec City — person been charged with the superior offence of facilitating violent activities.

"The 3 accused were readying to make anti-government militia. To execute this, they took portion successful military-style training, arsenic good arsenic shooting, ambush, endurance and navigation exercises," the RCMP said.

"They besides conducted a scouting operation."

The RCMP's merchandise besides said 1 of the accused allegedly created an Instagram relationship with the purpose of recruiting caller members to the anti-government militia.

A 4th individual, Matthew Forbes, 33, of Pont-Rouge, faces charges including possession of firearms, prohibited devices and explosives, and possession of controlled items.

The 4 accused are expected to appear connected Tuesday astatine the Quebec City courthouse. 

RCMP spokesperson Sgt. Camille Habel said those who ascribe to ideologically motivated convulsive extremism often privation to make a caller society.

"A tendency to unrecorded by antithetic values and wanting to alteration oregon make immoderate benignant of chaos truthful they could instrumentality implicit nine truthful they tin unrecorded it the mode that they want," she said.

The Mounties would not corroborate which of the men are serving subject members. The Canadian Armed Forces did not instantly respond to a petition by CBC News for comment.

The RCMP said searches conducted successful the Quebec City area, in January 2024, led to the seizure of 16 explosive devices, 83 firearms and accessories, astir 11,000 rounds of ammunition of assorted calibres, astir 130 magazines, 4 pairs of night-vision goggles and subject equipment.

Jessica Davis, president of Insight Threat Intelligence and a erstwhile expert with the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, said it's the azygous largest cache of weapons and components successful immoderate coercion incidental successful Canadian history.

"The magnitude of weapons and the magnitude of ammunition and the improvised explosive devices tells maine that they were gathering up for thing beauteous significant," she said.

"They were either trying to enlistee galore much radical truthful they were going to request that level of weapons and ammunition, oregon they were preparing for immoderate benignant of siege."

Habel said the RCMP's probe began successful the outpouring of 2023 and determined the alleged enactment began successful 2021.

Davis said that speaks to the complexity of nationalist information investigations. She added that instrumentality enforcement would person been acrophobic about the men's capabilities with guns and tactics.

"Obviously, an progressive subordinate of the Canadian subject volition person received weapons training," she said.

"Then there's a full different level of complexity, too, imaginable networks, relationships successful their units — each of these things truly complicate those kinds of investigations." 

Armed Forces have struggled with extremist ties

The Canadian Armed Forces have been nether unit to amended grip soldiers  drawn to hateful views and extremism.

A 2022 study from the military's advisory sheet connected systemic racism and favoritism recovered the fig of Canadian Armed Forces members belonging to extremist groups was connected the rise.

Gen. Wayne Eyre, past main of the defence staff, called the presence of members of extremist groups successful the military disturbing.

In 2021, a U.S. justice sentenced erstwhile Manitoba service reservist Patrik Mathews to 9 years successful situation for charges related to what the FBI described arsenic a neo-Nazi crippled to instigate a contention warfare successful the United States.

A 2020 CBC News probe of a Canadian Ranger portion uncovered however Erik Myggland, a British Columbia reservist who openly supported 2 far-right groups, was allowed to proceed serving adjacent aft helium had been identified by subject counter-intelligence and interviewed arsenic a imaginable threat.