Canadian parliament calls for designation of U.S. militia as terrorist

Ottawa, January 27 (RHC)-- Canada’s parliament has approved a motion calling on the government to formally designate an American group that supports former U.S. president Donald Trump as a terrorist entity, alongside outfits like al-Qaeda and Daesh.

Canadian lawmakers unanimously passed a motion that called on the government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to declare as a banned terrorist group the so-called Proud Boys, a white supremacist group and one of the staunchest supporters of Trump.  It urges the government to “use all available tools to address the proliferation of white supremacists and hate groups starting with immediately designating the Proud Boys as a terrorist entity.”

Although the move is symbolic, Trudeau’s government said authorities were monitoring the Proud Boys and collecting evidence that could support designation.  A spokeswoman for Public Safety Minister Bill Blair said that security and law enforcement agencies were “very actively engaged in monitoring the activities of these groups.”  According to Mary-Liz Power, authorities are “gathering the evidence required to support a determination of listing as a Terrorist Organization.”

Earlier this month, Trump incited armed supporters, including members of Proud Boys, to storm the U.S. Capitol building, where lawmakers were in the process of confirming Trump’s defeat and Biden’s win in the 2020 U.S. presidential election.

The mob assault resulted in the killing of at least five people, including a police officer who was guarding the Capitol building.  The attack also prompted a historic second impeachment vote against Trump at the U.S. House of Representatives.  Lawmakers cited Trump’s incitement of an insurrection against the U.S. government in the article of impeachment.

The Proud Boys had previously offered to serve as Trump’s private militia.

If the Canadian government designates Proud Boys as a terrorist entity, the group would be joining a long list of other organizations including al-Qaeda, Boko Haram, and Daesh terrorist groups.