Working Paper Series ____________________________________ ‘Broadening our Understanding of Anti-Authority Movements in Canada’ No. 17-02 August 2017 Authors: Barbara Perry Professor, University of Ontario Institute of Technology [email protected] David C. Hofmann Assistant Professor, University of New Brunswick [email protected] Ryan Scrivens PhD Candidate, Simon Fraser University [email protected] The Canadian Network for Research on Terrorism, Security, and Society TSAS is supported as a national strategic initiative funded by SSHRC and Public Safety Canada, along with the following departments of the federal government: • Royal Canadian Mounted Police • Canadian Security Intelligence Service • Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada • Correctional Services Canada • Defence Research and Development Canada • Global Affairs Canada • Security Intelligence Review Committee • Office of the Communications Security Establishment Commissioner TSAS also receives financial support from several Canadian universities, including the University of Waterloo. Views expressed in this manuscript are those of the author(s) alone. For more information, contact the Director of the Network, Lorne Dawson, Department of Sociology and Legal Studies, University of Waterloo ([email protected]) or Elizabeth Ford, Project Manager of TSAS ([email protected] ). 1 Table of Contents 1.0 - Introduction ........................................................................................................................................ 7 2.0 - Methods............................................................................................................................................... 9 2.1 - Websites, Message Boards, and Social Media ........................................................................... 9 2.2 - Court Records .............................................................................................................................. 10 2.3 - Media Scan ................................................................................................................................... 10 2.4 - Interviews ..................................................................................................................................... 10 2.4.1 - Interviews with Public Officials ......................................................................................... 11 2.4.2 - Interviews with Adherents of Anti-Authority Movements ........................................... 11 3.0 - History of the Anti-Authority Community in Canada .............................................................. 13 3.1 - Sovereign Citizens in Canada (late 1990s) ............................................................................... 14 3.2 - Origins of the Freemen-on-the-Land in Canada (Early 2000s) ............................................. 15 3.3 - Spreading the Message: Seminars, YouTube, and the World Freeman Society (Mid-to- late 2000s) .............................................................................................................................................. 15 3.4 - The Rise and Fall of Dean Clifford and “Muscular Freemanism” (2010-2015) .................. 16 3.5 - The Current State of the Canadian Freemen-on-the-Land (2015-2017) ............................... 17 4.0 - Canadian Anti-Authority Adherents ............................................................................................ 19 4.1 - Estimating the Number of Anti-Authority Adherents Active in Canada ........................... 19 4.2 - (In)Coherence of the Canadian Anti-Authority Community................................................ 21 5.0 - Core Ideological Concepts of the Canadian Anti-Authority Community............................... 25 5.1 - The Strawman Argument ........................................................................................................... 26 5.2 - Joinder: Everything is a Contract .............................................................................................. 27 5.3 - Common Law and Pseudo-Legal Tactics ................................................................................. 28 6.0 - Canadian Anti-Authority Factions ................................................................................................ 29 6.1 - Detaxers ........................................................................................................................................ 29 6.2 - Freemen-on-the-Land ................................................................................................................. 30 6.3 - Sovereign Citizens ....................................................................................................................... 31 6.4 - Moors ............................................................................................................................................ 33 6.5 - Indigenous groups ...................................................................................................................... 34 7.0 - Typologies of Anti-Authority Adherents in Canada .................................................................. 35 7.1 - Fantastical Believers .................................................................................................................... 36 7.2 - Conspiracy Theorists .................................................................................................................. 37 7.3 – Escapists ....................................................................................................................................... 39 7.4 - Dabblers/Opportunists .............................................................................................................. 39 2 7.5 - Sympathizers ................................................................................................................................ 41 7.6 - The Committed ............................................................................................................................ 41 7.7 - Violent Extremists ....................................................................................................................... 42 7.8 - Entrepreneurs .............................................................................................................................. 43 7.9 - Emergent and Established Gurus ............................................................................................. 45 8.0 - The Potential for Crime and Violence by the Anti-Authority Community in Canada ......... 47 8.1 - Offensive/Extremist Violence ................................................................................................... 49 8.2 - Defensive/Reactionary Violence .............................................................................................. 52 8.3 - Harassment and Intimidation .................................................................................................... 54 8.4 - Gun Ownership and Defensive Narratives ............................................................................. 57 8.5 - Militia Movements ...................................................................................................................... 58 9.0 – Recommendations ........................................................................................................................... 60 9.1 – Role of Law Enforcement .......................................................................................................... 60 9.2 – Education, Awareness, and Violence Reduction ................................................................... 61 9.3 – Acknowledgement of the Violent Potential of Canadian Anti-authority Movements ..... 63 9.4 - Further Research .......................................................................................................................... 64 References ................................................................................................................................................. 66 Appendices ............................................................................................................................................... 73 Appendix 1 - Interview Guide for Law Enforcement Officials ..................................................... 73 Appendix 3 - Interview Guide for Adherents ................................................................................. 75 Appendix 4 - Images of Robert Menard’s Online Presence ........................................................... 77 Images 1 and 2 - Example of Internet memes promoting Menard and the Freemen Worldview ........................................................................................................................................ 77 Image 3 - Facebook post by Menard advertising his “for pay” teaching and legal services as a Freeman Guru Worldview .......................................................................................................... 78 Image 4 - Facebook post by Menard advertising his “for pay” teaching and legal services as a Freeman Guru ............................................................................................................................... 79 Appendix 5 - Example of Pseudo-legal Document Employed by the Tacit Supreme in Law Court Anti-Authority Movement ...................................................................................................... 80 Appendix 6 - Ego-centric Network