Two people with links to far-right groups attempted to enter a recent anti-racism engagement session in St. Albert but were removed from the event by the organizing team.
Spruce Grove-St. Albert NDP MLA Trevor Horne hosted an event Tuesday night at the St. Albert United Church where people who are associated with a group called Patriot Pride Canada Wide made an appearance. The group supports other far-right groups in Canada such as the Soldiers of Odin, the Northern Guard, Proud Boys and the III%.
“A few individuals associated with some white nationalist organizations and with a history of posting racism and white nationalist material online came by,” Horne said.
The organizing team knew the duo were going to be coming to the event because they RSVPed to it online.
“We knew it was a possibility, especially given some of the recent events in both the province and internationally. We were keeping an eye out for it. We took as many precautions as we could,” Horne said.
Horne said his group was able to ask the two to leave without incident.
Once outside the church, a man who identified himself as Ryan but wore a name tag saying Greg Huck posted a YouTube video of himself describing what happened.
A blog post on Patriot Pride Canada Wide following the event stated organizers approached “the two white Canadian males with an entourage of social justice warriors.”
The post claims the organizers approached the two men and told them they were aware of who they are and if they “don’t follow the communist rules of the event,” they would be kicked out.
The post stated one of the members explained they were there to listen and observe, promising to co-operate and act in a civil manner – although it also stated they came prepared with notes and a hidden body camera.
Prior to the event, Huck posted to his Facebook page to announce he would be attending, using an obscene word to describe the event.
“Lets (sic) find out what kind of division these parasites are encouraging,” he wrote.
Horne said attendees were aware the two were being removed and were supportive of the decision.
“Most people were very supportive. This is exactly why we are hosting these sorts of events. So most people present were aware of why we took those steps, and I think it really reinforced the importance of the event,” Horne said.
“There is no reason to give them the benefit of the doubt or to hear them out. It's important to ensure that there is a safe space when you are talking anything, but in particular when you are talking about combating racism.”
The blog post on Patriot Pride Canada Wide included the personal contact information and family information of some of the organizers, and encouraged their readers to contact them.
“Obviously the only culture that was accepted tonight was that of the Islamic community, the LGBT and the NDP parasites. If you are a proud, white, conservative Canadian you are not included in the private world of the leftist diverse population,” the post read.
On his Facebook page after the event, Huck called the removal “censorship” and stated a “Muslim man tried to physically remove PPCW (sic) founder, he had to be warned to remove his hands from the member.”
“They were afraid that we would expose the lies on Racism in Alberta,” his post stated.
Horne’s office organized the anti-racism engagement session in response to a racist letter that was distributed to a family of five, targeting their Indigenous background and threatening their children.
Since the hateful letter, members of the community have responded by supporting the family through anti-racism rallies and events, including an event that drew hundreds of people to Grain Elevator Park last weekend.
Hone said the community response to the incidents has been positive.
“There has been a lot of community coming together to show their opposition to racism and show their support to those who are experiencing it.”
“Racism and white nationalism have no place in Alberta,” Horne said.
The RCMP were told about the event for awareness during their patrols. They said there were no problems at the event.
Huck was not available for an interview by press time.
