Two of the four suspects charged for allegedly plotting an armed attack have told people close to them that their troubles with the law are a big misunderstanding.
The two communities where those suspects lived are in disbelief following the RCMP’s announcement of arrests that included two active members of Canada’s armed forces.
Residents of those rural towns, Pont Rouge and Neuville, told Global News they were stunned by RCMP’s tactical squad arrests amid allegations that anti-government militia members with caches of weapons and ammunition lived among them while secretly recruiting members on Instagram.
The RCMP says searches it conducted in January 2024 in the Quebec City area led to the seizure of 16 explosive devices, 83 firearms and accessories, approximately 11,000 rounds of ammunition of various calibres, nearly 130 magazines, and four pairs of night vision goggles.
“We are without words to describe what has happened,” said one local businessman who formerly employed one suspect, Simon Angers-Audet of Neuville, who asked not to be identified.
The local businessman, who said he employed Simon Angers-Audet for 15 months, said the young man was smart, hardworking and never uttered any anti-government statements or advocated for violent extremism. Nor did he try to recruit anyone at work to join any armed extremist movement, he said.
“There was no hint about any crazy situation like this,” the businessman said. “He had a good attitude, he worked hard and was well-spoken,” he said, speaking on the condition he was not identified.
The RCMP said Tuesday that it charged three men with facilitating a terrorist activity in a plot to create an “anti-government militia” in Quebec, and a fourth man was charged with multiple explosives and firearms charges, including weapons he allegedly acquired from the United States and France.
None of the charges have been proven in court and the men were ordered held in custody until July 14.
Pont-Rouge and Neuville, where court documents suggest two of the four suspects live, are small, bucolic Quebec communities nestled along Quebec’s Highway 40 about 45 km south of the provincial capital.
The area features many machine shops that serve its prosperous-looking rolling farms and a growing population attracted to semi-rural life and cheaper home prices.
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One of the suspects, Cpl. Simon Angers-Audet, lives in Neuville with his father. When approached by Global News, the father said he was present this week when heavily-armed RCMP members arrived at their home at dawn and arrested his son at gunpoint.
Audet wept as he described how police broke down a patio door, tossed stun grenades into the house and stormed the residence, taking his son away in handcuffs. They didn’t even explain why, he said.
Audet added that his son served in the Canadian Forces reserves in Quebec City, called Les Voltigeurs, for more than two years. His son’s job was to take care of, adjust and maintain all the unit’s weapons, he said, and his day job was working at Latulipe, an outdoors sports shop that also sold rifles and guns.
The store fired Angers-Audet after the RCMP raid, Audet said.
His son was part of a young group of men that enjoyed being outdoors, camping and hiking, shooting guns, and pushing the limits of their physical strength, he said. They would train together carrying extra 50-pound weights and go into the woods for six or seven hours at a time.
“His objective was always to better perform in the army. They are not against the army,” Audet added.
Audet suggested police may have misunderstood and misconstrued the actions of his son and his group of friends, adding that his son “wouldn’t hurt a fly.” He added that his son and his young friends help people in the community.
The father alleged his son’s group was “infiltrated” by a strange, much older man, about 47 years old, that came all the way from New Brunswick to join his son’s group and stayed at his home.
“We wondered what he was doing here,” Audet added.
Another of the arrested suspects, Cpl. Matthew Forbes, 33, lives just down the road in Pont-Rouge. Most of the neighbours on his quiet, tree-lined street did not come to the door.
But one resident told Global News that Forbes’ home was raided by the RCMP on Jan. 10, 2024, and there was a huge police presence in the area at the time, and again Tuesday when he was also arrested on the quiet street at dawn. Those events left him anxious.
When he asked Forbes about the 2024 raid, Forbes tried to reassure him by saying it was all a misunderstanding, the resident said, asking not to be identified.
After that exchange, the man said he didn’t have or want any further dealings with Forbes.
Questions about military training photo
On Tuesday, the RCMP released to the media a photo which showed seven people dressed in combat gear, seemingly in formation, and brandishing weapons in a rock quarry.
The RCMP on Wednesday declined to identify the quarry’s location.
When asked about why seven people appeared in the photo but only four people were charged following its investigation, an RCMP spokesman, Cpl. Erique Gasse, replied by email:
“We know that, because of the Instagram account, there are more people who are interested in that ideology, and who took part in military-style training. The RCMP does not investigate movements or ideologies. It investigates only the criminal activities of individuals who threaten the safety of Canadians,” Cpl. Gasse said.
“Viewing ideological content or having extremist thoughts is not a crime in Canada. It becomes a threat when individuals advocate or use violence to promote or advance their ideology,” Cpl. Gasse added.
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