Army probe of Ranger unit finds some members 'vulnerable' to extremism

A Canadian army investigation of a troubled reserve unit at the centre of allegations of right-wing extremismidentifiedseveral members as"vulnerable"and "at risk" of being swept up into "a hateful ideology."

A partlyredacted copy of the investigation's completefindings wasviewed recentlyby CBC News.

While he acknowledged some troubling signs, Maj.-Gen.Derek A. Macaulaywho until recently wasthe acting commander of the army insisted that, overall, the 4th Canadian Ranger Group (4 CRPG) does not have an extremismproblem.

"What we're seeing, based on the summary investigation and the unit command survey, is that there have been indications of some right-wing extremismbut there isn't a problem," Macaulay told CBC Newsin a recent interview, prior to his transfer toU.S. Central Command in Florida.

"However, that does not say that it doesn't exist and that does not say that we don't need to continue our education ... we also need to continue to encourage those that see right-wing extremism to come forward and let us know."

The investigation did not extend toreviewingsocial media accounts belonging to members of theRangers unit.

Oneanti-hate group questions the investigation'seffectiveness, saying thatmost right-wing organizations and their supporters congregate online.

The special probe was ordered last fall after a CBC News investigation revealed that two now-former Rangers belonging to the patrol in Valemount, B.C. Erik and Jodi Myggland had been members of two hard-rightorganizations, the Three Percent movement and the Soldiers of Odin.

A one-page summary of the army's review, obtained by CBC News early last month, said the leadership of the Ranger group which encompasses B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba failed to take action promptlywhen concerns were raised.

The full investigation reportshows that, aside from the case of theMygglands, investigators were worried about two other patrols in Alberta and Saskatchewan.

'Leaning' toward a 'hateful ideology'

In one patrol, said the report,personal quarrels had led toaccusations abouta smear campaign with racial undertones. The bad blood in this patrol was not linked to hate groups butwas enough of a concern for the investigatorto recommend that the chain of command intervene, said the report. Theproblems in the second patrol were not specifiedbut were still cited as sources of concern for the Armed Forces.

The investigation team "did identify vulnerable and at-risk 4 CRPG members who may be leaning towards a hateful ideology and are exhibiting troubling conduct which may indicate an escalation of conduct as identified in the hateful conduct spectrum," said the report, which did not identify the members considered "vulnerable".

The report alsotouched brieflyon the case ofanother member of the 4th Canadian Ranger Group:Corey Hurren, a master corporal in the Swan River, Man.,patrol who stormed the gates of Rideau Hallwith loaded firearms and multiple rounds of ammunition onJuly 2, 2020. Since the case was under RCMP investigation last fall, the army investigation could not look at Hurren or his activtiies.

According to an agreed statement of facts read out in court, Hurrenwanted to arrest Prime Minister JustinTrudeau over the federal government's pandemicrestrictions and its ban on assault-style firearms. Hewas sentencedrecently to six years in prison, minus a year served.

Hurrenhad posted material online related to theQAnonconspiracy theory subculture before his arrestbut had no knowndirect prior links to right-wing extremist groups. In the months following the Rideau Hallincident, Hurren was praised online by some extreme organizations.

The investigation report only acknowledged that Hurren was a member of the 4th Canadian Ranger Group.Macaulay said there was no connection between Hurren and the actions of the Mygglands.

"I think, in this case, you are dealing with two separate incidentsbut both from the same patrol group," he said.

Check social media, says anti-hate group

Evan Balgordof the Canadian Anti-Hate Networksaid army investigatorsshould have looked closer at the places where right-wing extremists congregateonline.

"Any investigation that did not begin by looking at an individual members' social media account[s] is entirely deficient," said Balgord.

"Even just some kind of a cursory start. We're not saying they have to befriend these people and infiltrate their private postsand do that kind of deep dive. Just punch their names into Facebook and Twitter and YouTube and take a quick look."

Macaulay disagreed, saying there are limits to what the army can do without a complaint or expression ofconcern pointing to an individualmember's onlinepost.

"In the Canadian Army, we take the privacy of our soldiers very seriously," he said.

"Having said that, what we doin the Canadian Armyis, if we are made aware of social media that is contrary to our ethics, values, conduct, and in the vein of hateful conduct, we act upon it. But we do not make it a habit of combing any social media accounts and if we were to do that, it would require some advice from legal authorities."

Retired lieutenant-colonel Rory Fowler, a military lawyer now in private practice, said there are relatively few constraints on the army's abilityto lookat theopen-sourcesocial media posts of its members, as long as it doesn't cross into the territory of an undercover investigation.

"That information is publicly available," he said. "What may have triggered their concern is the general, broad view that the Canadian Forces does not conduct intelligence operations against Canadian citizens."

In some respects, the army's investigation of 4 CRPG fellon a jurisdictional line.

It's up to the Canadian Forces counterintelligence branch not the army itself to formally and routinely investigate threats to the force, including reports of right-wing extremism. That's what the counterintelligence branch did in the case of Erik Myggland, who was let go from the army in March after a protracted release proceeding.

The report said that in its probe of4 CRPG, thearmy was looking at how thechain of command responded to reports of right-wing extremism in the ranks,and atthe climate and administration within the unit.

The investigation found that the leadership of 4 CRPG did not move swiftly enough to deal with theMygglands' activitywhen it waspointed out by police in London, Ont.in 2017.

CBC News was also toldby senior defence sources last fall that separate concerns about the couple were raised by a foreign intelligence service through theFiveEyes intelligence-sharing alliance, which includes Canada, the U.S., the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand.

The current commanding officer of the 4th Ranger group will be replaced in June.

The former commander of the army and current acting chief of the defence staff, Lt-Gen. Wayne Eyre, issued specific instructionslast fallordering troops to report incidents of racism and discrimination. He warned thatfailure to so would make any bystanders "complicit."

But part-time and reserve memberscan be held accountable onlyfor what they say on socialmediawhile on duty not for what they postas private citizens.

Regardless, Macaulay said, the army expects a degree of decorum.

"They're representing Canada and their personal actions reflect Canada," he said. "And so they must understand that anything that they do is a reflection of the organization, a reflection of the army and areflection of Canadians."