Canadian Forces Member Who Allegedly Recruited For Hate Group Arrested in Manitoba

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) on Monday, August 19, raided a Manitoba home and arrested a Canadian Army Reserves member accused of recruiting for a neo-Nazi group, according to the Winnipeg Free Press and local residents.

In the video, RCMP officers can be heard addressing the suspect over a speaker, announcing they had a search warrant and asking him to exit with his hands in the air.

According to the Winnipeg Free Press citing a statement from Manitoba RCMP spokesman Robert Cyrenne, “the Mounties executed a public safety warrant at a residence in Beausejour at about 10 pm.” A neighbor, who recorded this video from his deck, said that approximately “15 seconds” after he’d stopped recording, a man emerged from the home and was taken into custody before police performed several searches of the residence.

The suspect taken into custody during the late-night Beausejour raid was identified as 26-year-old army reservist Master Cpl. Patrik Mathews, a member of the 38 Canadian Brigade Group, according to the CBC citing statements from Department of National Defence officials. On Monday, August 19, a Winnipeg Free Press report named Mathews as a recruiter for a far-right hate group called The Base.

The Base – a secretive neo-Nazi survivalist group – attracts members from across Canada and the United States, according to the Terrorism Research & Analytics Consortium (TRAC). An article posted to Medium offering an insider’s look into the group showed that its members were preparing for and in favor of accelerating what they view as an inevitable “race war”, advocating tactics such as guerrilla warfare.

The Seattle Times recently reported that police were investigating rumors of a “hate camp” being planned by the group outside Spokane, Washington.

According to Global News, the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) said they would “move forward to explore what immediate actions can be taken” and would “continue to support the ongoing CAF investigation.” Credit: Tyler Wenzoski via Storyful