Anti-racism groups want Hamilton venues to shut their doors to 'violent extremism' group Diagolon
Group’s founder advertised Canadian cities in summer ‘terror’ tour
Community groups in Hamilton are asking venues in the city to shut their doors to Diagolon, a far-right group named in a 2022 House of Commons report as an example of "ideologically motivated violent extremism."
The group purportedly plans to stop in the city as part of a Canadian tour this summer.
"It's important to have voices and coalitions of folks to shut them down," Caitlin Craven, who directs the Hamilton Centre for Civic Inclusion (HCCI), told CBC Hamilton.
On Wednesday, HCCI, Hamilton Anti-Racism Resource Centre and Disability Justice Network of Ontario called on the city to act, after the group's founder advertised a list of cities Diagolon was planning to visit over the next few weeks, including Hamilton.
Community members, groups, elected officials and institutions should "take action by publicly denouncing and opposing Diagolon and their tour of hate," their post on social media said.
It also included a list of "tangible actions" to take, such as venues denying bookings to Diagolon, politicians denouncing the group, and community members attending or supporting counter-events.
Diagolon was founded by podcaster Jeremy MacKenzie.
Barbara Perry, director of the Centre on Hate, Bias and Extremism at Ontario Tech University, calls it an "accelerationist" and "white supremacist" group.
According to Perry, "they wish to accelerate what they see as a civil war" that will restore a white, Christian ethno-state.
She said the group became widely known during the 2022 Freedom Convoy — a big tent protest movement against the federal government and pandemic public health measures.
MacKenzie and his followers have denied this characterization, saying onlookers are misunderstanding what they call jokes. They appear to play into the image of themselves as villains, using a demonic goat as a mascot and calling their upcoming travels the Road Rage Terror Tour.
'Extreme ideologies' need to be confronted: HCCI
"They're gonna say it was all tongue in cheek," Perry said, noting other far-right groups, such as the Proud Boys, followed the path of couching their message in irony before becoming more hard line.
"Their perspective is one of violence, and one that is extremely violent, racist, homophobic and transphobic," Craven said. "The way that people are impacted by racism tells us that this isn't a joke."
CBC Hamilton requested comment from MacKenzie but did not hear back before publication.
The diagonal slash on the flag used by Diagolon is meant to refer to a white ethno-state between Alaska and Florida, Perry said, and the group's messaging includes increasing hostility toward South Asians and opposition to non-white immigration.
"It's made up of former members of the Canadian Forces, individuals with real combat training, with real capabilities and who have grown increasingly radicalized, especially because of COVID.... These are the kinds of groups that I consider to be a real and significant threat to Canadian public safety at large," the 2022 House of Commons report says, quoting Mubin Shaikh, a professor of public safety at Seneca College.
Jeremy MacKenzie is founder of Diagolon, which has advertised it's planning a Canadian summer tour. (Ragingdissident.com)
Mackenzie has promoted the summer tour online, listing events in Calgary, Vancouver, Edmonton, Saskatoon and Nova Scotia. No specific city for Nova Scotia is named. MacKenzie's website also notes upcoming meet-and-greets in Lethbridge, Alta., Winnipeg, and Kamloops, Tofino and Nanaimo, all in B.C.
MacKenzie's website is selling tickets to the Hamilton event for $60, but no venue is listed.
Craven said that's likely intentional, to avoid being blocked. MacKenzie promoted a July 6 event in Ottawa and has posted images purportedly from the event. Some local politicians later condemned it. The organization that rented the venue out told CTV it did not know who planned the event.
It's tricky to deal with groups like Diagolon because they want attention, Perry said.
"They want to create a stir" in the public and in the media. Still, she said, people need to talk about them.
"We really need to pay attention to what the intention is associated with these appearances," which include fundraising, propaganda and attracting supporters.
Craven said "extreme ideologies" need to be confronted before they become mainstream.
She said many people responding to HCCI's posts said they did not know about the group beforehand.
On Thursday, in an emailed statement to CBC Hamilton that she shared on social media, Hamilton Mayor Andrea Horwath said she is "appalled" by news of the tour, saying the group "promotes hate" and condemns its presence.
Everyone has the right to live in their city free of racism and discrimination, and as leaders, we have a responsibility to stand up to hate every time we see or hear it.
- Andrea Horwath, Hamilton mayor
"Hamilton has no place for hate," she said.
"Everyone has the right to live in their city free of racism and discrimination, and as leaders, we have a responsibility to stand up to hate every time we see or hear it. This group is not welcome here."
Horwath reiterated her comments during a council meeting Friday, prompting support from councillors.
In denouncing Diagolon and others like it, Perry said politicians need to go beyond "platitudes," such as simply saying hate has no place in their communities and to specifically unpack the harms.
Acknowledging you're against hate is a good starting point, Craven said, but it's also important to name specific ideologies — including white supremacy, antisemitism and homophobia — if one is to meaningfully challenge them.
In 2022, Horwath signed an anti-hate pledge on behalf of the city. Organized by a coalition of community groups including HCCI, the pledge launched alongside an anti-hate toolkit. Speaking outside city hall at the launch, Horwath said she saw it as an opportunity "to take a visible, firm, unwavering stand against hate."
The work of groups such as HCCI to encourage venues not to book them is an important pressure point too, Perry said, as are counter-events.
She said it's important to "remind people across the community that there are more people that would resist these narratives than support them."
Hamilton has a 'long history of hate,' anti-racism expert says
Perry noted the group seems to have chosen cities to visit that, like Hamilton, are known to have receptive audiences.
The city has a "long history of hate," Craven said, and it's important to reckon with the need for more work fighting it.
Hamilton-born former federal cabinet minister Catherine McKenna reshared HCCI's post, saying, "as a proud Hamiltonian, joining the community in standing up against white supremacy and hate."
Horwath said she has spoken to the Hamilton Police Service, which is "actively monitoring" the situation.
In an email to CBC Hamilton, the police service said it was aware of Diagolon's apparent planned visit to the city.
"At this time, we have not had direct communication with the organizers and the event's specific location remains unknown. We are taking this matter seriously and are fully prepared to respond to any situation that may arise," police spokesperson Jackie Penman said.
"Hamilton Police Service officers are trained to monitor and manage demonstrations, and we are committed to taking action if any illegal activity occurs…. Hate crime in Hamilton is not acceptable. Left unchecked, hate crime can have a far-reaching impact on communities."
Perry said police should monitor Diagolon, but noted that what members say is often "lawful but awful," and doesn't cross the line into criminal hate speech.
In April, federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre came under fire for meeting with people protesting the federal carbon tax in Atlantic Canada who also had a Diagolon flag drawn on their recreational vehicle (RV).
Since then, the Liberals have repeatedly mentioned the group in attacks on Poilievre and his party. For instance, while in the House of Commons on May 1, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau asked if Poilievre "might take this opportunity to reassure Canadians that he neither supports extremist, white nationalist organizations like Diagolon nor wants their votes."
In early June, a Nova Scotia judge threw out charges, including criminal harassment, against MacKenzie and his partner Morgan Guptill, who the Crown had accused of harassing the province's chief medical officer of health in 2022.
The judge said the couple's rights had been violated because it took too long for them to stand trial.
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Far-right group Diagolon and its ‘terror tour’ are ‘not welcome,’ says Hamilton mayor
Advocates are calling on politicians, business owners and community members to denounce an extremist network and the event it has planned for Hamilton later this month.
A group of high-profile community organizers are taking a stand against a far-right podcaster whose so-called “Road Rage Terror Tour” is scheduled to stop in Hamilton later this month.
Jeremy MacKenzie, founder of the extremist network Diagolon, is making a series of public appearances across Canada this summer, including at an undisclosed Hamilton location July 31.
Earlier this week, six community organizations along with a McMaster University professor circulated a letter, including on social media, urging elected officials, business owners and the broader community to “take action to denounce and dismantle” this and other forms of white supremacy.
“The ultimate goal is for it to be untenable to have this event in Hamilton,” said Caitlin Craven, executive director of the Hamilton Centre for Civic Inclusion, which is among the signatories.
The letter — also endorsed by McMaster’s Ameil Joseph, the Hamilton Anti-Racism Resource Centre, the Disability Justice Network of Ontario, No Hate in the Hammer, the Hamilton Community Legal Clinic and the Social Planning and Research Council Hamilton — outlines several ways to take action, including signing onto the statement, refusing to rent a venue to the group and supporting those organizing counter-events. It also called on elected officials to speak up.
“Hamilton has and can come together to oppose hate and that time has come again. This event should not take place in Hamilton, or anywhere,” the letter reads.
Mayor Andrea Horwath said in a statement she’s “appalled” by the event and that police are monitoring the situation.
“Hamilton has no place for hate,” she added. “This group is not welcome here.”
Meanwhile, in a post on X Thursday morning, Coun. John-Paul Danko called the group and its ideologies a “threat to local democracy and basic human decency.”
MacKenzie, a self-described entertainer and political activist who hosts a podcast that promotes white nationalism, is used to this type of outrage, which is “manufactured by smear merchants,” he said in an email. And Horwath’s comments are “beneath” him and “not of any concern.”
He said the tour events are a combination of public-speaking, standup comedy and question-and-answer periods.
Diagolon and other violent extremist groups gained momentum in the wake of the pandemic, which “exacerbated xenophobic and anti-authority narratives,” according to a 2022 House of Commons report. It says Diagolon’s rhetoric, popular among those in the “freedom movement,” stokes racism and anti-immigration and anti-government sentiments, and encourages use of weapons. Since its inception as an online network several years ago, it has shifted to a “real-world presence.”
A video on MacKenzie’s Instagram account includes a clip of Adolf Hitler and images of violence. He has previously faced charges, including assault and weapons offences.
MacKenzie declined to disclose the venue and the number of tickets sold for the Hamilton event “for safety reasons.” However, he said he expects “thousands of attendees across the nation.” According to a website selling tickets for the tour, stops are scheduled in Sudbury, Thunder Bay and Ottawa, in addition to Hamilton, as well as in cities in B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Quebec and New Brunswick.
Hamilton police are aware of the event and “committed to taking action if any illegal activity occurs,” spokesperson Jackie Penman said in an email.
Hate crime “is not acceptable” and “can have a far-reaching impact on communities,” she added.
The city has a high and growing number of hate crimes and a history of groups that espouse white supremacy, said Joseph, an associate professor in McMaster’s school of social work.
“This is a scary moment where a lot of people don’t feel welcome, and they feel antagonized and, in these particular moments, may be potential targets of violence,” Joseph added.
Kojo Damptey, acting senior manager of McMaster’s office of community engagement, helped draft the letter. He said Diagolon’s ideology “seeps into the mainstream in a very innocuous way” and that’s why exposing it is crucial.
Extremist fringe groups grow their following by tapping into mainstream social concerns, such as unemployment, and through seemingly harmless activities, explained Timothy Bryan, a University of Toronto sociology professor who studies hate in Ontario. MacKenzie’s branding of this event as a comedy show is a good example.
This is dangerous, Bryan said.
A “strong response” like the community mobilization happening in Hamilton is important, he added. If communities are complacent and become “desensitized,” these types of gatherings are more likely to reoccur.
“One of the things that emboldens groups like this is indifference,” he said. “When these gatherings occur in a community and the community says nothing, does nothing, reacts to nothing, that is powerful.”
