Canada adds four groups to federal terror list

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OTTAWA — Canada will be the first nation to add a concerning cadre of child predators and extortionists to its list of proscribed terror groups.

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The 764 network is an ideologically motivated violent extremist (IMVE) group that actively preys on children online, targeting victims on social media in order to coerce them into harming themselves, others or family pets, grooming them to either radicalize them and target others, or blackmailing children via sextortion.

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Online extortion, terror groups listed

According to a 2024 RCMP news release, 764 members actively recruit new victims via applications like Discord or Telegram.

“Key motivators for members of these groups are to spread their ideology, gain notoriety, collect extreme violent online content, and rise in status within their groups,” the news release said.

Also finding their way onto the list was fellow IMVE group Maniac Murder Cult, an international racially-motivated group of extremists founded in Ukraine that subscribes to a self-professed “nihilistic national socialism,” which among their targets include immigrants, racial minorities and LGBT.

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Last month, Georgian national Michail Chkhikvishvili pleaded guilty to soliciting hate crimes and sending instructions to make bombs and ricin in a U.S. federal court in New York City. 

Chkhikvishvili, a Maniac Murder Cult leader who was extradited from Moldova this past May to stand trial, admitted to recruiting people to carry out a mass terror attack in New York City, as well as other plots to target American Jews and poison childrens’ candy.

A third IMVE group to make the list was Terrorgram Collective, a far-right decentralized group of neo-fascists who largely operate on Telegram.

Terrorgram Collective channels are often used by affiliated groups such at Atomwaffen Division and The Base — both of which were added to Canada’s terror list in 2021.

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Also added to the list was Islamic State-Mozambique, a full-fledged branch of the notorious terror group ISIS.

Threat posed by online extremism a real concern: Minister

In a statement, Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree said the threat posed by ideologically-motivated extremism is very real, whether it’s online or in the real world.

“The groups we have just listed prey upon people who are at-risk, especially our youth, and they must be stopped,” he said in the statement.

“By listing these groups, we have more powerful and effective tools to take action and thwart their efforts to incite violence and promote hate.”

Canada’s list of proscribed terror organizations now sits at 90.

Recent additions include the India-based Bishnoi Gang, various Mexican drug cartels, The Houthis/Ansarallah, and B.C.-based Islamist terror group and sham charity Samidoun — who remained an active not-for-profit corporation under Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) for nearly two years after making it onto the list.

bpassifiume@postmedia.com
X: @bryanpassifiume

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