Canada’s Aryan Guard Muddied Again

Yet another associate of Canada’s beleaguered Aryan Guard has landed in jail.

John Richard Marleau — a white supremacist who has attended most of the neo-Nazi group’s events, though he claims not to be an official member — faces multiple charges in connection with an attempted stabbing this week on a Calgary city train (CTrain).

According to a city of Calgary news release, the incident occurred shortly before 1:30 a.m. on Jan. 4, when an emergency button was activated on a CTrain. After being told that the button had been pressed accidentally, the driver stopped the train and left his cab to deactivate the button. As he entered the center car, a knife-wielding man darted toward him. With his would-be attacker in pursuit, the driver ran back to his cab, locked himself inside, and called law enforcement. When police caught up with the suspect at a train platform nearby, Marleau allegedly removed the knife from his jacket and waved it in front of him. After he refused to drop the knife, police subdued him with a Taser and took him into custody.

Marleau, a 22-year-old Calgary resident, was charged with three counts of assault with a weapon, and one count each of illegal possession of a weapon, carrying a concealed weapon and causing a disturbance. The driver was unharmed.

The Quebec Media Agency reported yesterday that the driver was a minority. However, a Calgary police spokeswoman told Hatewatch that she could not confirm the driver’s race or reveal whether the attack was racially motivated, saying details would emerge during court proceedings.

Marleau isn’t the only one with ties to the Aryan Guard to face serious charges in recent weeks. Kyle McKee, a founding member of the group, and an unnamed teenager were charged with attempted murder in connection with two homemade bombs found outside an apartment complex in Calgary. According to an announcement on the Aryan Guard website, one of the two victims targeted in the Nov. 21 attack was Marleau’s former girlfriend. Marleau was investigated in connection with the incident but does not face charges.

Founded in 2006, the Aryan Guard has staged highly visible “white pride” marches through downtown Calgary. It has also been linked to attacks on minorities, including an assault last year on a Japanese visitor. But the group’s future is unclear: Shortly after the attempted bombings, the Aryan Guard announced on its website that it was disbanding. Several days later, however, the group’s new leadership reversed that decision, saying it was looking forward to “a new day of carnage and brutality.”