Police in Canada have launched an investigation after it emerged that one of North America’s most influential white supremacists lives in Montreal and has been organising a small network of neo-Nazis in the city since 2016. An investigation by the Montreal Gazette unmasked the neo-Nazi propagandist who goes by the pseudonym Zeiger and is best known for his writings on the extreme rightwing news site Daily Stormer. In its report earlier this month, the paper identified him as a local IT consultant in his 30s named Gabriel Sohier Chaput.

The revelation made waves across North America, and cast a spotlight on the more than 100 hate groups and dozens of far-right figures in Canada. “Zeiger is one of the far right’s most credible, most competent and one of the most influential radio personalities and propagandists out there,” said Ryan Lenz of the Southern Poverty Law Center, which monitors hate groups throughout North America. “He’s proven to be a very effective presence and personality amid this rise in the alt-right.”(theguardian)…[+]