Boogaloo movement's rising support in Canada a cause for concern, Ross & Perry

#Canada; #BoogalooMovement; #HatefulRemarks

Ottawa, Jul 1 (Canadian-Media): The increasing number of Canadians supporting the Boogaloos, an anti-government, pro-gun movement linked to recent violence in the U.S., has prompted great concern and anxiety over their often hateful, violent remarks against protesters, police and Ottawa's new firearms restrictions, media reports said.

Boogaloo Movement. Image credit: Facebook page

Boogaloos have been in the spotlight in the United States (U.S.),  after some showed up heavily armed at anti-lockdown and Black Lives Matter demonstrations.

Although there are no reports of Boogaloos at Canadian protests, the movement has inspired at least two Facebook pages where followers have recently talked about killing protesters and RCMP officers alike.

These pages were created in the past six months, but now have about 800 followers each. 

That kind of support is cause for concern, say experts like Alexander Reid Ross, a post-doctoral fellow with the Centre for the Analysis of the Radical Right in Portland, Ore. "People need very little to do a whole lot of damage," Ross said. 

Several followers objected to Canadian government's tougher gun rules and mocked Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's criticism of unconscious bias and anti-Black racism.
Others were critical of police or the government in general.

​Barbara Perry, director of Ontario Tech University's Centre on Hate, Bias and Extremism said the Canadian supporters haven't gone that far but she is concerned that the combination of the COVID-19 pandemic, lockdowns, job losses, businesses failing and racial tensions could see a surge in Boogaloo support in Canada.
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"You put all those layers together, it's sort of ripe for an acceleration of the movement, an exacerbation of the movement," she said.