Ottawa man charged with promoting neo-Nazi terrorist group released on bail

An Ottawa man who has been charged with terrorism offences for promoting a far-right group has been granted bail.

Patrick Gordon Macdonald, 26, was charged in July with participating in the activity of a terrorist group, facilitating terrorist activity and wilfully promoting hatred for a terrorist group.

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The RCMP say he helped make propaganda material for the Atomwaffen Division, a neo-Nazi organization that has been listed as a terror group in Canada since 2021.

Macdonald's parents put up $40,000 in sureties at a hearing on Wednesday and he is now under conditions that require him to stay in his parents' home.

He can only leave home with one of his parents or to attend legal, counselling or medical appointments.

He's not allowed to have weapons and he cannot use any computers or devices that access the internet without supervision from one of his parents.

Macdonald was the first to be charged in Canada with terrorism-related and hate propaganda offences because of his alleged association with a violent far-right ideology.

His bail conditions also ban him from contacting a list of 10 people and require him to give up his passport.

Police allege he operated under a screen name online, and was known as "Dark Foreigner."

The U.S.-based Southern Poverty Law Centre says that "Dark Foreigner" made graphic designs for the Atomwaffen Division.

Public Safety Canada says the group calls for acts of violence against racial, religious, and ethnic groups, as well as informants, police and bureaucrats, to prompt the collapse of society.

It has held training camps where members receive combat and weapons training, and its members have carried out acts of violence before, including at a deadly white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va., in 2017.

The American co-leader of the group was banned from Canada after the Immigration and Refugee Board determined he was a member of a terror group.

Macdonald is expected back in court on Sept. 19.

The allegations against him have not been proven in court.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 30, 2023.