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Canada puts US right-wing Three Percenters militia group on terror list

FILE PHOTO: Militia groups stage rallies at the Confederate memorial at Stone Mountain
FILE PHOTO: A militia member with body armor and a Three Percent militia patch stands in Stone Mountain as various militia groups stage rallies at Stone Mountain, Georgia, U.S. August 15, 2020. REUTERS/Dustin Chambers/File Photo

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OTTAWA: The Canadian government officially named the US right-wing militia group Three Percenters a terrorist entity on Friday (Jun 25), saying it had an active presence in Canada and could threaten national security.

Earlier this month US prosecutors obtained a conspiracy indictment against six men associated with the Three Percenters, the latest in a series of such charges arising from the Jan 6 riot at the US Capitol by former President Donald Trump's supporters.

Canadian officials cited the Jan. 6 riot and said members of the Three Percenters had been linked to a 2020 plot to kidnap the governor of Michigan.

Canada also put leading neo-Nazi activist James Mason and British group Aryan Strikeforce on the list on Friday.

The groups' assets can now be frozen by banks and financial institutions, and it is a crime for Canadians to knowingly deal with assets of a listed entity. Anyone belonging to such a group can be blocked from entering Canada.

In February, Canada named the far-right Proud Boys a terrorist entity, saying it posed a "pivotal role" in the attack on the US Capitol.

Source: Reuters