Poilievre denounces “abuse” against his wife allegedly from the founder of Diagolon who shook his hand – National
Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre says he is speaking out against ‘abuse’ and sexual threats against his wife allegedly committed by Jeremy Mackenzie, the de facto leader of a far-right group called Diagolon whose adherents have campaigned of social media abuse against female journalists for months.
In a statement posted to Twitter on Monday morning, Poilievre said he was made aware of « disgusting comments by Jeremy McKenzie and another man, where they discuss sexual assault against my wife. »
He called the men ‘obnoxious’ and ‘losers’ and added that he had reported the comments to the police.
In the video, a social media account of ‘Jeremy Mackenzie’ can be seen lighting up as the speaker before a man can be heard talking about Anaida Poilievre as he and the co-hosts debate his ethnicity, before he goes on to say, « let’s fiddle with it.
« It’s not really about sex, we just want to show people that we can do things to you if we want to, » he adds.
Global News attempted to contact Mackenzie on Monday about the threats allegedly made against Anaida Poilievre. No response has yet been received.
The Canadian Press reported Monday afternoon that in an interview with Mackenzie, he said he was drinking when he made the comments and no one meant any harm.
Poilievre said in his statement that he didn’t hear from Diagolon until « about a month ago. »
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Diagolon: What you need to know about the group whose founder shook hands with Pierre Poilievre
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Diagolon: What you need to know about the group whose founder shook hands with Pierre Poilievre
Global News sent a list of campaign questions to Poilievre’s conservative leadership in July, shortly after attending a march on anti-COVID public health measures with a man called James Topp, who had previously appeared in an episode of Mackenzie’s January podcast in which Mackenzie described wanting to « bring down the government. »
The co-hosts of this episode also described wanting to « assemble the gallows on the f—ing Parliament. »
When asked if Poilievre was worried that supporting figures like Topp who appeared on Mackenzie’s podcast could be interpreted as supporting far-right views, and if he would speak out against the Mackenzie co-host’s comments about wanting to see a gallows on Parliament Hill, Poilievre attacked Global News.
His campaign issued a 238-word statement accusing Global News of being « unprofessional » and attempting to set « dishonest traps ».
« Your tactic appears to be to demand that Mr. Poilievre be held accountable for all the words and deeds of not just everyone he met, but everyone they met, » his campaign said. « Each of these people is individually responsible for their own words and deeds. »
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Poilievre was questioned last month after a photo circulated online showing him shaking hands with Mackenzie at a campaign event in Nova Scotia. A spokesperson for Poilievre said Aug. 20 that he had « shake hands with literally tens of thousands of people at public gatherings. »
« It is impossible to do background checks on every person who attends my events, » Poilievre’s campaign team said in response to Global News’ August 20 request for comment.
« I did not know or recognize this particular individual. »
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Over the past few weeks, an ongoing torrent of abuse, threats and hatred against the journalist in question and other Canadian women journalists covering the far right has continued to escalate, including from supporters of Diagolon and Mackenzie himself.
“You deserve worse and with the trajectory you are on you will get it,” Mackenzie tweeted Aug. 12 of the onslaught of threats against female journalists covering the far right.
He also urged his thousands of followers: « Hate them as hard as you can. »
His account was suspended shortly after and remains so.
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Diagolon took on added importance during convoy blockades earlier this year, particularly the blockade at Coutts, Alberta. The RCMP said at the time that they had become aware of a small organized group that was « willing to use force against the police ».
During a subsequent raid, the gendarmes discovered 13 long guns, handguns, a machete, a large quantity of ammunition and body armor. They also found two tactical vests – adorned with what Canadian Anti-Hate Network researchers believe are Diagolon patches.
Mackenzie denied that the patches are affiliated with his group.
Global News has obtained the permit application from the City of Ottawa for the march Poilievre attended alongside Topp last month. Stephanie McEvoy, a woman who has described herself online in social media posts as « pro-ProudBoy », was listed as the « primary event contact » on the form.
The Proud Boys are a listed terrorist entity in Canada.
Poilievre’s campaign did not respond to questions at the time asking whether he knew McEvoy was involved.
Topp’s attorney served Global News with a complaint about a previous Global News story and said any statements suggesting that Topp is a « far rightist » or an « extremist » are false and defamatory.
With files from Rachel Gilmore of Global News.
© 2022 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
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