The founder of a Canadian "extremist, militia-like organisation” visited far right allies in Scotland. Critics question why a “dangerous individual" was allowed to enter the country.
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The founder of a Canadian "extremist, militia-like organisation” visited far right allies in Scotland. Critics question why a “dangerous individual" was allowed to enter the country.
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A Scots neo-Nazi fight club hosted a Canadian far right activist who threatened to rape the wife of a politician and reportedly described the holocaust as “hilarious”.
Jeremy MacKenzie was recently pictured in Stirlingshire alongside members of Caledonia Club, a fitness and combat training group with ethnonationalist beliefs.
So-called ‘active clubs’ – a recent far right phenomenon – are increasingly recruiting teenagers, according to the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism. It reported 220 localised groups across 33 countries as of last year.
MacKenzie heads Second Sons, a Canadian active club, and reportedly founded another group, Diagolon. Canadian police and intelligence agencies called Diagolon an "extremist, militia-like organisation" and academics said it wants to fuel a race war.
MacKenzie, however, has dismissed these characterisations as false and politically-motivated. He has said Diagolon was “certainly not anything resembling a militia”, and that allegations of extremism originated from “certain actors and members of the media”.
A Telegram post from Caledonia Club in October said some of its members met up with “our friend Jeremy MacKenzie while he was visiting Scotland”, adding “Hail Victory” – the English translation of the Nazi phrase Siel Heil.
Images showed MacKenzie, accompanied by six men with blurred faces, posing with flags in front of the Wallace Monument and the Robert the Bruce statue at Bannockburn.
During his UK visit, MacKenzie spoke at the far right Patriotic Alternative’s conference in England. The Ferret has previously exposed Patriotic Alternative Scotland’s links to neo-Nazis.
In a blog post, MacKenzie claimed he was interrogated by officers at Heathrow airport before leaving the UK. The Metropolitan Police confirmed that on 14 October, a 40-year-old man was “detained by Counter Terrorism Policing London Border officers, before being released and allowed to continue his journey”.
Campaigners and an MP questioned why MacKenzie was able to enter Britain in the first place.
The activist has reportedly performed the Hitler salute, called the Holocaust “fucking hilarious”, advocated the removal at gunpoint of non-white people from Canada as part of “ethnic cleansing”, and used the motto “by gun or rope” to describe how his enemies can choose to die.
In a 2022 livestream, referring to the wife of Canada’s Conservative Party leader, MacKenzie said: "Let's rape her”. He added: "It's not really a sex thing. It's like we just want to show people that we can do things to you if we want to. It's a power move." MacKenzie told the media he was drinking when he made the comments and meant no harm by them.
In 2024, The Ferret documented how Active Club Scotland (ACS), Caledonia Club’s predecessor, was among groups that used riots in England and Northern Ireland to try and recruit new members.
Billy Briggs
That same year, one member who had posed with weapons, performed the Nazi salute, and claimed to have a “militia” in the Forth Valley, was identified as an ACS member by Hope Not Hate.
The anti-racism group says active clubs stem from a US white supremacist street fighting gang that decentralised into “active clubs” following a number of arrests. In 2024, its founder was sentenced to two years in prison for planning and engaging in riots.
The Counter Extremism Project (CEP) monitors the active club network, and noted Scottish groups’ previous attendance of overseas events hosted by European counterparts.
“The meeting with Jeremy MacKenzie illustrates the international networking of the violence-oriented extreme right”, which can “facilitate the exchange of ideas” and foster “more capable local extremist networks,” said Alexander Ritzmann, a senior CEP advisor.
“For Scotland, the important question is whether Caledonia Club is developing its organisational capabilities and connections within this wider transnational network.”
Steven Rai, a researcher at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue counter-extremism group, said: “The photos from Scotland are intended to display strength and international solidarity, but what is more important is the movement building that is happening behind closed doors.
“The concern is less about what happens during any one of these meetups, but what these interactions enable over time – a more resilient white supremacist network whose ideology appears to be gaining mainstream traction.”
Jamie Mann
Hope Not Hate researcher David Lawrence said he is concerned that MacKenzie was allowed to enter the country. “The approach of the Home Office has been uneven in recent years, with some far right activists thankfully denied entry, while others, who may be less well-known but more ideologically extreme, permitted to enter,” he claimed.
“MacKenzie is a dangerous individual, seeking to network with similarly dangerous groups. Going forward, we hope a more rigorous approach is applied to prevent his ilk from operating on British soil."
Scottish Liberal Democrat MP Susan Murray MP said: “I struggle to understand why someone like this would be allowed into the UK.
“Scotland has its share of homegrown extremists too. I hope the Scottish Government will work with the police, community groups and civil society groups to marginalise organisations like this and ensure they cannot gain a toehold in Scotland."
A spokesman for Caledonia Club said: “As always when speaking with journalists we ask that they prove they are not weak or fat, if you can please provide us with a video of yourself bench pressing 100kg we will be happy to answer any questions you have.”
Jeremy MacKenzie did not respond to a request to comment.
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