Homegrown hate Ryan Thorpe's story on infiltrating a neo-Nazi paramilitary group, and the Free Press' follow-up coverage
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 11/06/2019 (2025 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
In August 2019, a Free Press reporter posed as a white nationalist to gain inside access to a neo-Nazi paramilitary group attempting to gain a foothold in Winnipeg and across the country.
Read Ryan Thorpe’s story, and the Free Press’ follow-up coverage.
Inside a neo-Nazi group attempting to gain a foothold in Winnipeg and across the country
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He stands about 5-10, with hair that’s shaggy on top and clipped close at the sides. He pulls at his bushy beard when he's deep in thought. His arms are often crossed when he talks.If you walked past him on the sidewalk, you wouldn’t look twice.He wants to recruit young white men for a race war. He thinks one is coming and can’t wait for it to get here. His group idolizes serial killers and mass shooters, referring to the likes of Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh and Charleston church shooter Dylann Roof as “the saints.”His name is Patrick and he plans to establish a white supremacist terror cell in Manitoba.
White supremacist in army reserve
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The man who is recruiting in Winnipeg for a neo-Nazi paramilitary group holds a leadership position in the Canadian Army Reserve and is a trained explosives expert.
Military, RCMP investigating Winnipeg neo-Nazi army reserves leader
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At least two investigations are underway into the extremist activity of Master Cpl. Patrik Mathews, an active combat engineer in the Canadian Army Reserves in Winnipeg who holds membership in a violent neo-Nazi hate group.
RCMP raid Beausejour home of army reservist identified as neo-Nazi recruiter
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RCMP officers raided the Beausejour home of a Canadian Army Reserves leader identified as a recruiter for a violent neo-Nazi paramilitary organization on Monday night, neighbours say.
Mounties remain silent after raid on neo-Nazi soldier's home
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Manitoba RCMP refuse to say why they carried out a raid Monday and seized weapons at the Beausejour home of a Canadian reserve soldier who has been recruiting for an extremist neo-Nazi organization.
Military aware of Winnipeg soldier's neo-Nazi 'utterances' since April, Canada's top general says
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Canada’s top general has disclosed the military has been tracking a Manitoba solider for months, after a Free Press exclusive report uncovered his links to a neo-Nazi group.
Haters find a home: Online platforms transform white-male frustration into violent extremism
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When it starts, the boy is just 16 years old, crossing the awkward and unsteady bridge that links adulthood to youth, and he is lonely. One day, he opens up the social media site Reddit, and finds in its multitude of communities a place to ask the question that has been eating up his mind.
Winnipeg neo-Nazi soldier to be relieved of military duties in coming weeks
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The Canadian Armed Forces has stripped Master Cpl. Patrik Mathews of his uniforms, relieved him from his duties, and will formally release him from the military in the coming weeks, the Free Press has learned.
Neo-Nazi soldier disappears: Family hasn't seen hate-group recruiter since Saturday
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The same day the RCMP announced it is searching for army reservist Patrik Mathews, who was reported missing by his family Monday, the Free Press learned an account belonging to him appears to have recently resurfaced on a social media platform popular with far-right extremists.
Neo-Nazi soldier's truck found abandoned near U.S. border
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A truck owned by a Canadian Forces reservist has been found abandoned near the U.S.-Canada border, two weeks after he was exposed as a recruiter for a neo-Nazi paramilitary group.
Manitoba fugitive at centre of neo-Nazi murder plot: FBI
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It was a scene out of a thriller novel.
Ex-Winnipeg reservist Mathews 'very dangerous person,' U.S. judge says, rejecting bail argument
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GREENBELT, Md. — Patrik Mathews was portrayed as a terrorist, intent on murder and destruction in seeking to spark a neo-Nazi revolution, as a U.S. judge rejected the former Canadian soldier's bid for release Wednesday.
Recognized, relieved
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Greenbelt, Md. — As Patrik Mathews was led into U.S. federal court in Greenbelt, Md., Wednesday morning, his head was on a swivel. He seemed to scan the faces — lawyers, journalists, law enforcement — that lined the dark wooden benches in the courtroom.
Local neo-Nazi faces more charges Tuesday
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Patrik Mathews is scheduled to appear back in U.S. federal court next week to be arraigned on the latest criminal charges laid against the neo-Nazi recruiter and disgraced Canadian reservist.
Patrik Mathews' attorney seeks to suppress post-arrest interview
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En route to the Baltimore field office after his Jan. 16 arrest in Delaware, Federal Bureau of Investigation special agents bought Patrik Mathews a Chick-fil-A sandwich and a cup of coffee.
Manitoba neo-Nazi pleads guilty to U.S. charges
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GREENBELT, Md. — Patrik Mathews walked into a U.S. federal courtroom Thursday cloaked in the presumption of innocence. When he left, he was a felon — four times over.
Patrik Mathews wanted bloodshed, instead, he got the jumpsuit of a convicted felon
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GREENBELT, MARYLAND — The guilty plea was recorded, the agreed statement of facts read into the record, and Patrik Jordan Mathews — dressed in an orange prison jumpsuit — shuffled out of a federal courtroom on June 10 towards a bleak future behind bars.
Patrik Mathews abruptly gave away beloved cats, concerned friends called RCMP, search warrant reveals
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Friends, former friends and co-workers of Patrik Mathews thought he was all talk until they read an article in the Winnipeg Free Press that identified him as a white supremacist who was actively recruiting for The Base, a secretive neo-Nazi paramilitary group, according to recently unsealed search warrant documents obtained by CBC News.
Patrik Mathews crossed border with white-supremacist posters, list of mass shootings: RCMP
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When Canadian border agents searched a rental vehicle driven by a then-unknown Patrik Mathews in the summer of 2019, they made a disturbing discovery: homemade posters warning of “White Genocide” and a detailed list of mass shootings.
Manitoba reservist could get lengthy sentence
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Prosecutors in the United States who argue a former Canadian Armed Forces reservist intended to start a civil war by killing on a large scale are recommending he be sentenced to 25 years in prison.
Patrik Mathews awaits sentencing after brazen 'race war' plot derailed
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As their neighbours celebrated the birth of the Messiah on Christmas Day 2019, Patrik Mathews — a disgraced Canadian army reservist on the run from U.S. law enforcement — and Brian Lemley Jr., an American combat veteran, were plotting the resurrection of a “saint.”
Neo-Nazi's views repugnant, but he deserves 'second chance,' U.S. defence lawyer argues
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Patrik Mathews’ defence attorney is asking a U.S. federal judge to sentence the neo-Nazi and disgraced Canadian reservist to a 33-month prison sentence, even as he concedes his client held beliefs "many would find repugnant."
U.S. judge adding 'terrorism enhancement' to Manitoba neo-Nazi's prison term
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GREENBELT, Md. — Terrorism sentencing enhancements will be applied in the case of Patrik Mathews — a neo-Nazi and disgraced Canadian reservist — and his co-conspirator, Brian Lemley Jr., a federal judge ruled in a Maryland courtroom Monday.
Reporter Ryan Thorpe re-examines the 2.5-year journey of Patrik Mathews — from neo-Nazi to prison inmate
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For three years, the high priests of the QAnon conspiracy-theory movement and other far-right crackpots and bigots had preached about a storm on the horizon.
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History
Updated on Thursday, January 23, 2020 5:43 PM CST: Coverage added.
Updated on Monday, February 10, 2020 6:39 PM CST: Coverage added.
Updated on Wednesday, February 19, 2020 12:36 PM CST: Coverage added
Updated on Friday, October 15, 2021 8:17 PM CDT: Coverage updated.