QUACKS LIKE A DUCK

Canada Designates Proud Boys a Terrorist Organization

The classification expands the actions the government can take against the right-wing extremist group.

The Canadian government designated the far-right group the Proud Boys as a terrorist organization Wednesday. Public Safety Minister Bill Blair called the male-only group one of the “most serious threats” to the security of his country. The classification expands the actions the Canadian government can take against the Proud Boys to include seizing assets, prosecuting those who assist the group, and denying members entry into the country. Canada also added the right-wing American group Atomwaffen Division, the neo-Nazi group The Base, and the nationalist Russian Imperial Movement to its list of terrorist groups.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has issued similar warnings about the Proud Boys but has not declared it a terrorist group. Members of the Proud Boys took part in the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, marching from a speech given by former President Donald Trump, who has encouraged them by name before, to the seat of Congress.