Prosecutors seek to tie Ottawa man to filming of neo-Nazi propaganda videos

Screenshot from an Atomwaffen Division propaganda video. RCMP have charged an Ottawa man with ties to the far-right group with terrorism offences. (RCMP)

Closing arguments began Monday in the terrorism trial of an Ottawa man, who Crown prosecutors allege contributed to the creation of neo-Nazi propaganda and recruitment videos.

Ottawa-area graphic designer Patrick Macdonald, 27, pled not guilty to three charges of terrorism and hate speech in a trial that's stretched just over two weeks in Ontario Superior Court.

Crown prosecutors allege he took part in the activities of a terror group from April 2018 to December 2019, in Quebec and Ontario.

Prosecutors presented three videos downloaded by RCMP in 2020 that had been made to promote the Atomwaffen Division. Canada listed the neo-Nazi group as a terror entity in 2021.

The prosecution is attempting to tie Macdonald to the filming of the group's hate-filled videos and the creation and sharing of Nazi-inspired images, through metadata linked to seized camera equipment, his mobile phone and bank records, and clothing and other equipment seized from his home.

The Crown's arguments, which have largely relied on technical evidence, are expected to wrap Tuesday, after which Macdonald's counsel is expected to lay out the defence's response.

The videos in question contain violent and antisemitic messages and symbols, and show a small, paramilitary-like force donning skull masks with their faces blurred, marching in the woods, shooting what appear to be assault rifles and burning flags and books.

Armed and masked individuals in combat gear, as shown in this still image taken from video, part of the neo-Nazi group known as the Atomwaffen Division, appear in a video released as evidence in a Superior Court trial. Prosecutors allege an Ottawa man helped create the group's promotional videos in Canada, used as propaganda and recruitment tools by the listed terror entity. (THE CANADIAN PRESS)

Those included a Hebrew bible and the Qur'an, along with an LGBTQ+ pride flag, and the flags of the United States, Israel and the European Union.

Police searched Macdonald's home in 2022 and discovered items including a tactical vest resembling one shown in the videos. They also recovered a skull mask, combat boots, sunglasses and several Cobra-brand handheld radios.

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Crown prosecutor Catherine Legault argued these items share close similarities with a figure that appears in two of the videos.

The prosecution argues Macdonald's banking records tie him to purchases in the rural town of Sainte-Ferdinand, Que., about 100 kilometres south of Quebec City, where police believe they discovered a site nearby where some scenes were filmed.

Macdonald's Freedom Mobile cell records also place him at another time and place in Belleville, Ont., where police believe some of the filming took place, based on site inspections and video comparisons.

Legault argued that the seized camera equipment and storage media contain identifiable metadata pointing to the dates and times some scenes were filmed.

The videos and images in question were shared on the Telegram channel "Terrorwave Refined" in 2019.

Armed and masked individuals in combat gear, as shown in this still image taken from video, part of the neo-Nazi group known as the Atomwaffen Division, appear in a video released as evidence in a Superior Court trial. Prosecutors allege an Ottawa man helped create the group's promotional videos in Canada, used as propaganda and recruitment tools by the listed terror entity. (THE CANADIAN PRESS)

Expert witness Barbara Perry, director of the Centre on Hate, Bias and Extremism at Ontario Tech University in Oshawa, wrote a report on the Atomwaffen group's activities for the case.

She declared that the group promotes accelerationism, the idea that society's institutions should be toppled and replaced with a white supremacist ethno-state. Atomwaffen was first created in 2015 on social media platform called Iron March, designed specifically for right-wing extremists.

None of the allegations against Macdonald has been proven in court.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 2, 2024.