Official Statement on the Capitol Insurrection
“What we witnessed on January 6, at the Capitol building of the United States of America, was not a protest. It was an organized insurrection, to defend a white supremacist president. It was a coup against a free and fair election for the presidency of the United States. It was fascism.”
In the long list of tragedies in the United States; from slavery to the genocide of indigenous peoples, the Dred Scott decision, Trail of Tears, and Jim Crow laws, to name a few; there needs to be an authentic reckoning with the past. To defend democracy and bring about global justice, we must collectively hold these white supremacist fascists accountable.
Sadly, Canada is not immune from this same type of hate and violence. Let's not forget that a Canadian based political micro targeting company in Victoria BC, was directly implicated in the Cambridge Analytical scandal that was responsible for spreading far-right disinformation in support of brexit and the republican campaign in the fated 2016 US elections. Let's also not forget that the Conservative Party of Canada, recently released an online advertising campaign, falsely accusing Prime Minister Trudeau and the Liberal Party of engaging in electoral fraud in advance of the next election. Voting out fascism is clearly not working here in Canada. Instead, hate groups are thriving in Canada. One such example; the Proud Boys was founded by Canadian Gavin McInnes, and most recently, researchers at the University of New Brunswick discovered 29 right wing extremist groups that emerged in Atlantic Canada, within the last four years alone.
The attempted coup operated for months in plain sight. Authorities were warned and political leadership also ignored the credible intelligence. This is evidenced by the fact that the New York City Police Department's intelligence and counterterrorism unit had compiled a detailed package for Capitol Police outlining credible and actionable intelligence on at least 12 individuals across the nation that had been involved in the planning of violent activities at the Capitol Building.
If we are to protect democracy around the globe, then we must be willing to hold accountable ideologically and racially motivated violent extremists and their political supporters for the spread of disinformation, hate and violence.
Progressive World Federalists, Board of Directors
January 2021