While the United States is often credited with being the most significant exporter of far-right extremism, Canada is vying for the spotlight this week. Monday, Patrick Gordon Macdonald made his first appearance at the Ottawa Courthouse. Better known by the moniker “Dark Foreigner,” Macdonald has been charged with participating in terrorist activity, facilitating terrorist activity, and committing an offense on behalf of a terrorist group. More specifically, Macdonald has been accused of serving as the chief propagandist of Atomwaffen Division (AWD), a now-defunct far-right extremist organization that was designated a terrorist entity by the Canadian Government in 2021. 

The saga of Dark Foreigner has been sensational since VICE News’ dramatic unmasking of the previously anonymous graphic artist as Patrick Macdonald in July 2021. RCMP arrested Macdonald almost exactly two years later. After making bail, Macdonald has resided with his parents in Ottawa, requiring their supervision to access the internet or leave the house. Now, Macdonald continues to garner attention as the first person in Canada to be charged under both terrorism and hate propaganda offenses. 

At first glance, it is easy to misconstrue Macdonald’s alleged participation in terrorism as merely supportive. Dark Foreigner’s main contribution to the neo-fascist online community was through his work as a graphic designer whose creations circulated on Terrorgram and featured in Terrorgram publications such as The Hard Reset and Militant Accelerationism. He also designed the cover art for the fourth edition of James Mason’s Siege, an essay anthology lauded to be AWD’s bible and Alexander Slavros’ Zero Tolerance. Dark Foreigner’s work provided the highly stylized, edgy, and immediately-recognizable visual aids that accompanied vitriolic ideological literature calling for the acceleration of the collapse of Western civilization, race war, and genocide of all non-whites. 

Dark Foreigner’s contribution to the neo-fascist accelerationist milieu goes far beyond establishing the movement’s brand recognition. The distinct aesthetic represented by his work is inseparable from accelerationist ideology, aiding not only in its convenient dissemination but, in some cases, expansion. Take, for instance, the image entitled “Alexandros.” The quintessential neo-fascist skull mask has been imposed over the face of Alexander the Great, hinting at accelerationists’ kinship with the legacy of Ancient Greek conquest. Conversely, consider “Galactic Lebensraum,” a piece displaying a victorious neo-fascist astronaut drifting through a presumably conquered universe. As neo-fascist accelerationist ideologues continue producing documentaries and lists to convince their adherents of the reality of the “swelling effect”––the notion that the frequency of accelerationist attacks is increasing––Dark Foreigner’s work does the heavy lifting without words, essentially saying: “the accelerationist movement has an illustrious past and a promising future.”

Some of Dark Foreigner’s more infamous pieces, including a stylized image of Osama bin Laden in front of the burning Twin Towers also embody the increasing ideological convergence of militant Islam and neo-fascist accelerationism. Similar depictions of Haj Amin al-Husseini, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem celebrated by accelerationists for his antisemitism and close relationship to Adolf Hitler, speak to this alarming confluence. Terrorgram discourse regarding the extent to which accelerationists ought to endorse Islamist terrorism and support jihadists’ cause is ongoing. Indeed, neo-fascist accelerationists remain deeply Islamophobic and continue to celebrate the atrocities committed by figures such as Brenton Tarrant. However, Dark Foreigner’s memorialization of bin Laden and al-Husseini as accelerationist-adjacent figures indicates the ecosystem’s disturbing willingness to reach across ideological lines to celebrate antisemitism and revel in violence.

As significant as Dark Foreigner proved for the accelerationist milieu, Macdonald’s trial will prove just as significant for domestic counterterrorism efforts in Canada. Canada’s Criminal Code, amended in 2015 with the Anti-terrorism Act–– stipulates that individuals promoting terrorism “must know” or “be reckless” as to whether an offense will be committed as a result of what they say or write. Terrorist propaganda is classified as “material commissioning a specific terrorism offense or terrorism in general.” A possible point of contention during Macdonald’s trial will be that the bulk of his alleged activities took place between 2018 and 2020. AWD was not designated as a terrorist organization until 2021. This may call into question whether Dark Foreigner’s propaganda was terrorist in nature or merely morally repugnant. 

Regardless, Dark Foreigner’s outsized influence on the neo-fascist accelerationist ecosystem makes it clear that Canada may have an unfortunate claim to being the second most significant exporter of far-right terrorism.

Patrick Gordon Macdonald has pled not guilty to all charges. The trial is ongoing.