RCMP cite ‘online radicalization’ in investigation of city man accused of terrorism, linked to neo-Nazi group

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Investigators believe a 19-year-old Winnipeg man accused of committing terrorism offences may have been radicalized online.

Manitoba RCMP confirmed the charges against Nevin Thunder Young stem from a three-month graffiti spree he is alleged to have committed late last year.

“Winnipeg Police Service conducted their investigation into the mischief charges and, as a result of that investigation, identified material that falls within the national security mandate,” RCMP spokesperson Christina Zoernig said in an email statement Thursday.

Mounties were not prepared to provide additional details surrounding the crimes Young is accused of, but Zoernig noted “online radicalization forms part of the investigation.”

Police charged him this week with two counts of commission of an offence for a terrorist group, and single counts of participation in the activity of a terrorist group and facilitating terrorist activity. The charges have been added to 26 counts of mischief under $5,000 for incidents in Charleswood between Sept. 28 and Dec. 31.

Investigators have linked Young to the international racially or ethnically motivated violent extremist group known as M.K.Y., Zoernig said.

The Winnipeg Police Service launched an initial investigation after swastikas and M.K.Y. initials were spray-painted onto Westdale Community Centre and nearby buildings.

M.K.Y., also known as Manic Murder Cult, is an international neo-Nazi group that promotes violence against racial minorities and the Jewish community.

“If this was not intervened, it could be a deadly consequence,” said Kawser Ahmed, an adjunct professor of political science at the University of Winnipeg who studies online radicalization.

Extremist groups frequently target people who are loners, or have mental and social barriers. They may have previously expressed problems with authority or an interest in anarchism and alternative political beliefs, he said.

Such groups identify potential recruits through online platforms, including forums, social media and video games. Recruiters then spend weeks or months grooming their targets. Once trust has been developed, they encourage the person to commit crimes to establish their allegiance and radicalize them further, Ahmed said.

He pointed to the arrest of a 20-year-old Georgian man in Moldova last year. Police accused him of being a leader in M.K.Y, and said he was planning and soliciting a mass-casualty attack in New York City.

According to U.S. indictment documents, the suspect sent online messages to an undercover FBI agent that said: “We ask people for brutal beating, arson/explosion or murder vids on camera.”

“Young people are vulnerable…. They are actually the prime target of groups like this,” Ahmed said. “(Recruiters) look for the comments, the frustrations or grievances someone just shared in their social media feeds.”

Speaking generally, the researcher said a petty crime such as graffiti can quickly escalate to more severe and violent crimes once a person has been radicalized. The prevalence of the internet and increasingly sophisticated grooming techniques has expedited that process, he said.

“Nowadays, the timeline is very short,” he said. “This is why the caution, the preparedness of society is so important, so that we can intervene before something really bad happens.”

Ahmed co-authored a resource guide for Manitoba teachers that seeks to help them identify and address signs of radicalization in youth.

He conducts training seminars for educators, including this month when he hosted a workshop for the Manitoba Association of School Superintendents.

“We have seen people do not take these things serious; they don’t,” Ahmed said.

“Police, law-enforcement agencies, they are not in the forefront of preventing radicalization to violence. They are actually the last part of this whole system. It is us who have to pick up those signs and do something in order to prevent it.”

Young was already in police custody when he was re-arrested for the terrorism charges.

He appeared in court Friday, records show, but the outcome of that hearing was not immediately clear.

Federal Crown prosecutor Judy Kliewer confirmed in an email statement that a continuation of his bail hearing is set for April 7.

The charges against him have not been tested in court.

tyler.searle@freepress.mb.ca