Apparent white nationalists’ gathering in Kamloops, B.C., widely condemned
John Hammond and his wife were enjoying a peaceful Sunday morning coffee at home when they heard the “hup! hup!” of a group of men marching.
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The retired couple looked out their window in
The retired couple looked out their window in the small B.C. city of Kamloops and saw roughly two dozen men clad in black clothes and white face and neck coverings while being led by an unmasked man they estimated to be in his 50s toward a nearby cenotaph. The cenotaph commemorates soldiers from Kamloops who died in the two World Wars and other conflicts across the globe.
Mr. Hammond said the group posed around the
Mr. Hammond said the group posed around the memorial, while two others operated drones flying nearby. The former air-traffic controller, who moved from Ontario to B.C.’s Southern Interior during the pandemic, called the RCMP detachment’s non-emergency line because he thought it was inappropriate that the men were holding such a gathering at the cenotaph.
The dispatcher told him they would send a
The dispatcher told him they would send a car there and when the couple looked again, the men were gone. Less than an hour later – at 9:17 a.m. – the dispatcher called Mr. Hammond back saying Mounties had fanned out across the city but had not been able to find them.
Mr. Hammond said later that day, his daughter
Mr. Hammond said later that day, his daughter informed him that based on social-media reports, the men were suspected of being part of the Second Sons white nationalist group. The same people appeared to have hung a “got bones?” banner with the club’s three-maple-leaf insignia on a Trans-Canada Highway overpass in Kamloops on Sunday, she said.
Local Mounties are investigating the same group for
Local Mounties are investigating the same group for setting foot on the nearby Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation reserve. “It’s not something I want in my neighbourhood, city, province or country,” Mr. Hammond said.
Five years ago, the Tk’emlúps announced it had
Five years ago, the Tk’emlúps announced it had found the remains of 215 children on the site of an old Indian Residential School, a finding that made headlines globally and set off an unprecedented period of national grieving in Canada. Former prime minister Justin Trudeau declared Sept. 30 to be a holiday, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. The Tk’emlúps have backed away from certainty that results of ground penetrating radar scans indicate bodies are buried there and skepticism about the unmarked graves claim has grown and some claim deaths at the school are a hoax.
Kamloops RCMP said Monday they had received a
Kamloops RCMP said Monday they had received a call Sunday at dawn complaining of masked men gathering beside a road on the Tk’emlúps reserve and “engaged the group.” The group left for other parts of the city, the RCMP said in a statement, but did not clarify whether they had any more interactions with them.
The RCMP said they were investigating the “cowardly
The RCMP said they were investigating the “cowardly attempt to avoid accountability for actions and messages that are clearly intended to intimidate, provoke fear and division.” Police announced no arrests and did not explain what – if any – charges the masked men may face.
Sunday’s public demonstrations drew condemnation from the Tk’emlúps
Sunday’s public demonstrations drew condemnation from the Tk’emlúps, other Indigenous groups and political leaders of all stripes.
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Apparent white nationalists’ gathering in Kamloops, B.C., widely condemned
John Hammond and his wife were enjoying a peaceful Sunday morning coffee at home when they heard the “hup!
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Source: Globe and Mail