Jeremy MacKenzie (born 1985 or 1986) is a Canadian right-wing activist, military veteran,

Plaid Army The Plaid Army is a group of Canadian internet live streamers know for trolling and far right politics. The group has been accused by the Canadian Anti-Hate Network of islamophobia and anti-semitism. Activities and views The Plaid Army is a g ...

podcaster, the founder of far-right group

Diagolon Diagolon is a Canadian alt-right organization which was considered significant to the Canada convoy protest by the Government of Canada. It is led by Jeremy MacKenzie (activist), Jeremy MacKenzie. Organisation and aims Diagolon is a right wi ...

, and a

Canada convoy protest A series of protests and blockades in Canada against COVID-19 vaccine mandates and restrictions, called the Freedom Convoy (french: Convoi de la liberté, links=no) by organizers, began in early 2022. The initial convoy movement was created t ...

er.

Interests and views

MacKenzie is a right-wing activist who founded the alt-right group Diagolon. He is a firearms enthusiast and a

podcaster. MacKenzie has stated that there is a race war occurring in the US, and has described the

Nuremberg Trials The Nuremberg trials were held by the Allies of World War II, Allies against representatives of the defeated Nazi Germany, for plotting and carrying out invasions of other countries, and other crimes, in World War II. Between 1939 and 1945 ...

as a kangaroo court.

Career and activism

MacKenzie joined for the

Canadian Armed Forces } The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; french: Forces armées canadiennes, ''FAC'') are the unified military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air elements referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army, and Royal Canadian Air Force. ...

in 2003 and worked as infantryman for the Royal Canadian Regiment, which included a deployment in Afghanistan. MacKenzie is present on many social media platforms where he uses variations of the username ''Raging Dissident''.

Canada convoy protest and activism

In early 2022, MacKenzie took part in the Canada convoy protest. In February 2022, he was identified by

Public Safety Minister The minister of public safety (french: ministre de la sécurité publique) is the minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet responsible for overseeing Public Safety Canada, the internal security department of the Government of Canada. The p ...

Marco Mendicino as a national security risk; Mendicino also identified MacKenzie's

organization as "a far right extreme organization." While giving evidence at the subsequent

Public Order Emergency Commission The Public Order Emergency Commission (POEC; ), also known as the Rouleau inquiry or the Inquiry into Emergencies Act was a public inquiry in Canada that investigated the invoking of the ''Emergencies Act'' on February 14, 2022 by the governm ...

, MacKenzie downplayed his connections to Chris Lysak, one of the men accused of plotting to kill police officers at the 2022 bridge blockage, close to Coutts, Alberta. MacKenzie's lawyer had previously requested that MacKenzie be allowed to participate in the commission in private, without the public watching. Commissioner

Paul Rouleau Paul S. Rouleau is a justice of the Court of Appeal for Ontario, Canada. He was the commissioner of the Public Order Emergency Commission that conducted the Inquiry into Emergencies Act mandated by law to study and report on the circumstances t ...

rejected evidence presented by MacKenzie that downplayed the role of Diagolon at the protest and described Diagolon's presence at both the Ottawa and Coutts protests as "the most troubling connection between protest locations" in his concluding report''.''

Allegations and arrest

The

Royal Canadian Mounted Police The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; french: Gendarmerie royale du Canada; french: GRC, label=none), commonly known in English as the Mounties (and colloquially in French as ) is the federal police, federal and national police service of ...

(RCMP) issued a Canada-wide arrest warrant for MacKenzie in July 2022, and he was arrested on September 29, 2022 in Cole Harbour,

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

. MacKenzie was charged with crimes in three provinces, including

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

and Nova Scotia. His charges include: criminal harassment, uttering threats, assault, pointing a firearm at someone, and ten counts of possessing restricted firearms and prohibited magazines. He was denied bail on the October 7, 2022. MacKenzie fired his lawyer on the October 13, 2022. After being held in Saskatoon Provincial Correctional Centre, he was granted bail on November 25, 2022. MacKenzie made racist comments and discussed raping

Anaida Galindo Anaida Poilievre (; born 1986 or 1987) is a Canadian political staffer, online magazine publisher, and the wife of Conservative Party of Canada leader Pierre Poilievre. Early life and education Poilievre was born in Caracas, Venezuela to a fa ...

(wife of

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

leader

Pierre Poilievre Pierre Marcel Poilievre ( ; born June 3, 1979) is a Canadian politician who has served as the leader of the Conservative Party of Canada and the leader of the Official Opposition since 2022. Poilievre has served as a member of Parliament (MP) ...

) with podcast guest with Alex Vriend, prompting Poilievre to ask the RCMP to investigate him. An RCMP investigation was ongoing as of October 2022.

Personal life

MacKenzie was aged 36 in 2022. He moved to

Pictou Pictou ( ; Canadian Gaelic: ''Baile Phiogto'') is a town in Pictou County, in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. Located on the north shore of Pictou Harbour, the town is approximately 10 km (6 miles) north of the larger town of New Gla ...

, Nova Scotia in December 2021.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:MacKenzie, Jeremy 1980s births Living people Alt-right activists Organization founders Far-right politics in Canada Canadian podcasters Canadian conspiracy theorists People from Pictou County Protesters involved in the Canada convoy protest