HateGate, Part 1: Report's Co-Author Involved With "Heritage Front", A CSIS Operation

This continues the series on “Diagolon”. This is a so-called “meme” organization that shows the signs of being a honeypot run by either law enforcement or intelligence.

Parts 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 of the series relate to the Schill gun grab. There’s a lot more to get into, all of it ignored by so-called “alternative” media.

Viewers of my last video weren’t too happy. Included were various video clips, along with references to the Zaugg and Schill incidents. Apparently, that wasn’t enough, and it was necessary to research HateGate to have an informed opinion.

The gist of it was (supposedly) that Diagolon and Jeremy MacKenzie (a.k.a. Raging Dissident) were being wrongfully smeared by the hate industry in Canada. The allegations were all baseless, and all founded on distortions of a podcast-based community. The investigative reporting had cleared them of any wrongdoing — beyond being loud, crude and obnoxious.

A quick search led to an article on Crier Media, with an 85 page report attached. It was co-authored by Caryma Sa’d and Elisa Hategan. To be fair, the report itself is quite interesting, and is heavily sourced. This isn’t merely rambling on their part, but the result of considerable work.

But a few things immediately stood out.

Quotes From HateGate Report

Taking Down the Heritage Front
In the early 90s, sixteen-year-old Romanian immigrant Elisa Hategan (then Elisse) was held up as the innocent young face of an Ontario neo-Nazi, white supremacist group known as the Heritage Front. With over 200 members, including violent skinheads with convictions for aggravated assault, kidnapping and attempted murder, and implicated in firebombings, it was considered the most dangerous white supremacist group in modern Canadian history. Elisa was groomed as a media spokesperson to soften the image of violent skinheads, even appearing on The Montel Williams Show at age seventeen to repeat scripted talking points that concealed the group’s hateful ideology.

It was a cynical, yet effective strategy. But the adult puppeteers failed to account for personal agency, nor for Elisa’s identity as a closeted lesbian with Jewish roots, later confirmed through DNA tests. Elisa began to secretly provide information to anti-racist activists, at great personal risk, revealing details about illegal weapons and the identity of a Toronto police officer who was a group member. At age eighteen, she defected from the group, stealing part of Holocaust denier Ernst Zundel’s membership list. Months later, her courtroom testimony was instrumental in securing the convictions of three Heritage Front leaders—a fatal blow that triggered the group’s decline and eventual demise.

While the leaders were serving jail time, co-founder and second-in-command leader Grant Bristow was exposed as an undercover CSIS operative by Toronto Sun reporter Bill Dunphy, in part due to scrutiny that arose after Hategan’s affidavits and testimony pointed to Bristow being an agent provocateur who directed criminal activity such as the It Campaign, a brutal harassment campaign directing Indigenous community leaders and anti-racist activists.

Despite having incurred serious death threats, including being questioned at knifepoint by Front members the day before her defection, Elisa was inexplicably denied entry into the RCMP’s Witness Protection Program. Grant Bristow, however, was promptly relocated to Alberta, given a home, cars and a generous monthly paycheck for years afterwards, despite the fact that his five years of work in Operation Governor had not led to the arrest and conviction of a single Canadian neo-Nazi.

Forced to live in hiding across Canada for more than two years, relying on kind strangers, homeless shelters, and dumpster-diving to survive, Elisa, a ninth-grade high-school dropout with a history of familial abuse and foster care, managed to earn a Nova Scotia GED and was accepted into the University of Ottawa’s prestigious criminology program.

Motivated to understand how extremists target youth for radicalization, Elisa made the best of her second chance, engaging in volunteer work inside prison and youth detention centres, while working two jobs and relying on student loans to stay afloat. In 1999, aged 25, she graduated magna cum laude with a double major in criminology and psychology.

Starting on page 31, the report talks about Hategan’s backstory, including how she had been groomed as a “spokesperson” for Heritage Front, a white supremacist gang. It turned out that Grant Bristow, a co-founder of the group, was in fact a CSIS agent. Of course, this raises the obvious question of whether (and to what degree) the group was created at the behest of authorities in Canada.

Granted, the 1980’s and early 90’s didn’t have internet culture, so it’s not the same as today. But there are many things to be asked.

Hategan isn’t shy about her involvement with Heritage Front. She has a video on her YouTube channel, which is still accessible today. She also has a book for sale called Race Traitor.

All of this said, the HateGate report seems to avoid addressing the elephant in the room: was CSIS doing the same thing with Diagolon that they were with Heritage Front? Could MacKenzie, Harrison and/or Vriend really be working for the Government? Could they (alternatively) be considered assets?

Hategan Counselled To Commit Crimes — As A Minor

Critics who distrust CAHN’s claim of expertise on far-right extremism will cite a noticeable double standard—the penchant to reserve the brunt of condemnations for political opponents, while overlooking and even forgiving misconduct by peers and members of their devoted fanbase. They point to situations where CAHN implies they are selective when choosing who gets publicly denounced as a bigot or extremist, and who is ignored.

For instance, relative unknowns get spotlighted and called heroes, even when there is no evidence to suggest they did anything to earn the accolades. To our knowledge, none of the former white supremacists promotes by CAHN has provided evidence of assistance to law enforcement organizations while still inside their hate groups. None testified against former comrades to help secure convictions.

There is arguably no better example to underscore concerns over CAHN’s personal biases affecting what is purported to be expert research, than the enduring friendship between Bernie Farber and Grant Bristow, the undisputed co-founder and self-appointed “Intelligence Chief” of the Heritage Front.

Prior to her defection from the Heritage Front, Elisa Hategan submitted approximately 30 affidavits to the Ontario Provincial Police. Several involved situations where Bristow purportedly counseled Elisa—initially still a minor—to engage in criminal activity, such as giving her instructions on how to anonymously harass and intimidate left-wing activists, hack into answering machines to collect data, and spy on the Irish Freedom Association of Toronto.

She, along with scores of neo-Nazi skinheads and white supremacists, were given names, addresses and telephone numbers and taught how to use voter registry information to gather details about individuals on the target list, such as the names of everyone residing at that domicile.

Bristow also boasted about his intention to drive a lesbian Anti-Racist Action (ARA) activist to mental breakdown and suicide. “I want to pound Ruth’s head in. I want to give her a facial massage with a sledgehammer,” he is described as saying in one of Elisa’s 1994 affidavits. He enlisted Elisa specifically because he needed a woman’s voice for that particular job—to record messages on adult personal ads while passing as Ruth, and give out her address and telephone number.

Beginning on page 48, Hategan outlines how she had been pushed to commit crimes, while still being a minor. She describes conduct that can best be described as harassment, stalking and doxxing. She mentions her extensive cooperation with the Ontario Provincial Police.

She also claims that Bernie Farber — the infamous head of CAHN, the Canadian Anti-Hate Network — had a long lasting friendship with Bristow. If this is true, then groups like Heritage Front are presumably in bed with the “anti-hate” and “anti-fascist” organizations that oppose them.

With this knowledge in mind, it again raises the obvious question: why didn’t the HateGate report seem to explore the possibility that Diagolon was a Government front? Hategan, more than nearly anyone, should have been aware of this.

Why Get Involved With These People At All?

Looking through Hategan’s many online postings, she quite proudly boasts of her Jewish heritage, and of being a lesbian.

That being said, the streams of “Raging Dissident” are filled with endless insults and comments about “the Jews”, and “faggots”. It’s baffling that Hategan would put in the work to try to clear them. Of course, this could just be an idealistic take on free speech.

Taking a look through her Twitter feed, it seems that relations between Hategan and Diagolon have collapsed. She’s even threatened lawsuits based on the content of Harrison’s book: Meme Kampf. Gee, who could foreseen such a possibility?

Full Posting Of 1,082 Page FOIPIP Release

Most people are likely unaware of this, but when someone makes a freedom of information request, there’s an archive generated. From the Government’s perspective, it prevents duplication, in the event that someone else asks for the same (or similar) data. It wasn’t hard to find this specific one.

It’s unclear why the full summaries weren’t released along with the other citations. None of the media outlets that covered the story did either. Therefore, this site contacted the RCMP and requested a copy of the results.

This will be covered in a future article, but the results of the FOIPIP request don’t really support the conclusions that are drawn. Yes, there are accurate quotes pulled. However, the package — when read in full — leads toward other findings.

Probably the biggest misconception is that authorities panicked jumped to conclusions to justify invoking the Emergencies Act. The “Diagolon” group promotes this narrative non-stop. That isn’t justified though.

Is Diagolon An Intelligence Gathering Operation?

The recent “Road Rage Terror Tour” has concluded, with this group coming to towns across Canada. But it’s worth asking what exactly was the point? Was selling merchandise the goal? Or was it to gather names, photos and contact information of people to monitor?

Recently, the so-called Queen of Diagolon posted this tweet. Who makes comments — even as a joke — about recording people’s licence plates? Keep in mind, one of the things Hategan did for police was take down plate numbers.

Considering the content of these streams, doxxing is a legitimate concern.

Given that a few “Diagolon” patches found in Coutts was allegedly a smoking gun connection of a murder conspiracy, why the push to keep selling merch? Is it about extra money? Ego? Or is the goal to spread enough of it around that a connection can always be found?

Regular people would have been charged for saying a fraction of the things that are common on these livestreams. For some reason, Government goes out of its way to signal boost, rather than get it shut down. Remember:

There is arguably no better example to underscore concerns over CAHN’s personal biases affecting what is purported to be expert research, than the enduring friendship between Bernie Farber and Grant Bristow, the undisputed co-founder and self-appointed “Intelligence Chief” of the Heritage Front. (HateGate, Page 48)

This is directly from their text. According to the HateGate report, Bernie Farber and Grant Bristow were able to remain friends despite them being ideological enemies. It suggests the entire conflict was manufactured. Fast forward to today, could something similar happen again?

Could Evan Balgord and Alex Vriend secretly be friends? Is Diagolon really just Heritage Front 2.0?

As they say, history doesn’t repeat itself, but it does often rhyme.

SCHILL HEARING:
(1) https://www.canlii.org/en/on/oncj/doc/2024/2024oncj249/2024oncj249.html
(2) Evidence Of Officer Ernest Carmichael, Day 1
(3) Evidence Of Officer Ernest Carmichael, Day 2, Cross Examination

CARMICHAEL ASSAULTING A PRISONER:
(1) Ernest Carmichael Disciplinary Hearing Penalty Decision 25.07.2014
(2) https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/siu-lays-assault-charge-against-york-region-police-officer-1.1392108
(3) https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/york-police-officer-charged-with-assault/article_d1b43f97-a077-59b4-8603-747a94b76170.html

POEC HEARINGS:
(1) https://publicorderemergencycommission.ca/
(2) PEOC Report, Volume 1: Overview
(3) Public Order Emergency Report Volume 1 Overview
(4) PEOC Report, Volume 2: Analysis (Part 1)
(5) Public Order Emergency Report Volume 2 Analysis Part 1
(6) PEOC Report, Volume 3: Analysis (Part 2)
(7) Public Order Emergency Report Volume 3 Analysis Part 2 Recommendations
(8) PEOC Report, Volume 4: Process and Appendices
(9) Public Order Emergency Report Volume 4 Process And Appendices
(10) PEOC Report, Part 5: Policy Papers
(11) Public Order Emergency Report Volume 5 Policy Papers

MOSLEY DECISION:
(1) https://www.canlii.org/en/ca/fct/doc/2024/2024fc42/2024fc42.html#par41

CASELAW ON REVOKING FIREARMS PERMITS:
(1) R. v. Zeolkowski, 1989 CanLII 72 (SCC), [1989] S.C.J. No. 50, at para 12, 16, 17, 18
(2) British Columbia (Chief Firearms Officer) v. Fahlman, 2004 BCCA 343, at para 25.
(3) R. v. Christiansen, 2006 BCCA 189, at para 7.
(4) R. v. Bokhari, 2009 ONCJ 691, at para 10, relying on R. v. Day, [2006] O.J. No. 3187 (S.C.J.) and R. v. Morgan, [1995] O.J. No. 18 (Ont.Ct.(Prov.Div.)).
(5) R. v. Peacock-McDonald, 2007 ONCA 128, at para 40
(6) R. v. Douglas, 2013 ONCJ 649, at paras 45, 57.
(7) R. v. Mourtzis, 2015 ONCJ 74, at para 25.
(8) R. v. Roman, 2018 ONCJ 344, at para 89.
(9) R. v. Hurrell, 2002 CanLII 45007 (ON CA), [2002] O.J. No. 2819, at para 48.
(10) R. v. Christiansen, supra, at para 7.
(11) Fahlman, supra, at para 25.
(12) R. v. Peacock-Macdonald, supra, at para 40.
(13) R. v. Roman, supra, at para 89.
(14) R. v. Wiles, 2005 SCC 84, at para 9.

One Reply to “HateGate, Part 1: Report’s Co-Author Involved With “Heritage Front”, A CSIS Operation”

Grace Joubarne says:

August 25, 2024 at 7:26 AM

Very good article: eye-opener for sure.

Just a little question: there is no ‘gene’ for Jew anymore than there is a gene for Muslim or homosexual or anything that is a personal choice in life. Thus, how could they (whoever ‘they’ are) prove she was of Jewish ancestory with a DNA test?

Loading...

HateGate, Part 1: Report’s Co-Author Involved With “Heritage Front”, A CSIS Operation

Quotes From HateGate Report

Hategan Counselled To Commit Crimes — As A Minor

Why Get Involved With These People At All?

Full Posting Of 1,082 Page FOIPIP Release

Is Diagolon An Intelligence Gathering Operation?

Like this:

One Reply to “HateGate, Part 1: Report’s Co-Author Involved With “Heritage Front”, A CSIS Operation”

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Quotes From HateGate Report

Hategan Counselled To Commit Crimes — As A Minor

Why Get Involved With These People At All?

Full Posting Of 1,082 Page FOIPIP Release

Is Diagolon An Intelligence Gathering Operation?

Share this:

Like this:

One Reply to “HateGate, Part 1: Report’s Co-Author Involved With “Heritage Front”, A CSIS Operation”

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Discover more from Canuck Law