How political extremists took advantage of COVID-19

Canada’s violent political extremists eagerly welcomed COVID-19 as a gift, newly released documents show: a handy “opportunity to promote disinformation” and a recruiting tool, wrapped up in the guise of protecting “freedom.”

But their goal is to create civil unrest, including possible terrorist attacks, assessments from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) show.

“If you look at the core organizers, they really had nothing to do with the trucking industry,” Carvin said.

“These are people who have held extremist views, (and) people who believe in QAnon theories. What they were able to do is frame their grievances around an issue that has popular support,” she said.