Fugitive Calgary white supremacist arrested after standoff

CALGARY – Police in Winnipeg have arrested a self-professed white supremacist wanted in connection with planting a homemade bomb outside a Calgary home.

Calgary police announced this morning that officers in Winnipeg arrested Kyle McKee at 12:30 a.m. following a two-hour standoff at a home in Winnipeg’s north end.

Details are still coming in, but local investigators were able to say that Winnipeg police went to the home following a tip.

Police issued warrants for McKee and a 17-year-old youth after a failed bombing at a townhouse complex at 5300 Rundlehorn Drive on Nov. 21. Someone left two explosives outside the intended target’s ground-floor suite, but the victim was able to toss away the devices before they exploded in the nearby parking lot.

McKee, 24, was a veteran member of the Aryan Guard, a group that has staged so-called "white pride" marches and rallies in Calgary, including an event downtonwn last March that briefly turned violent when members of the group clashed with counter-demonstrators.

Police believe the bombing may be connected to a dispute among white supremacists who belonged to the Aryan Guard. An anonymous statement issued since the failed bombing stated the group had disbanded — only to be followed by a second communique claiming the Aryan Guard is still in existence.

After the warrants were issued, the RCMP spotted McKee sleeping in his truck at a drive-in theatre south of Regina on Nov. 26. He handed over his driver’s licence but sped away before police could take him into custody.

McKee, 24, faces two counts of attempted murder, possessing, making or controlling explosives, and possession of a weapon or imitation for a dangerous purpose.

A 17-year-old, who cannot be named under provisions of the Youth Criminal Justice Act, was arrested earlier in Portage la Prairie, Manitoba, and charged in connection with the same incident.

jvanrassel@theherald.canwest.com