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New information from an informant in the case involving three men accused of facilitating terrorism in Quebec City revealed they were planning for a supposed zombie apocalypse.
The information, provided as part of an ongoing case still before the courts, comes from a former member of the group Hide & Stalk — an alleged anti-government Instagram group of current and former military members.
The allegations are found in an Information to Obtain (ITO) — a document filed by police as part of an application to obtain a search warrant. These allegations and sourcing have not been tested in court.
A publication ban regarding this former member’s name and the information he provided to police as part of their investigation was lifted Friday. He provided a voluntary interview with investigators which lasted three days. CBC is withholding the name of the former member as he is not facing charges.
In July, the RCMP charged four Quebec men, all with military ties, for allegedly planning an ideologically motivated violent plot “intending to forcibly take possession of land in the Quebec City area.”
Alongside weapons charges, three of them — Marc-Aurèle Chabot, Simon Angers-Audet and Raphaël Lagacé — have been charged with the serious offence of facilitating a terrorist activity.
The men were accused of being members of the group Hide & Stalk.
Alleged leader thought end of the world was approaching
In documents made available Friday, detectives say they met with the informant who is a former member of the group.
In his interview with authorities, he said that when he left the Canadian Armed Forces in 2021, he looked for a military community and soon connected with Chabot on Instagram.
The following year, the individual told police that he was brought on excursions, camping trips and became a part of the group Hide & Stalk.
Each person in the group has a distinct role, according to the source, all of which were decided by Chabot.
In the obtained court documents, the informant alleges Chabot wanted him to use his expertise as an engineer in combat — and reportedly asked him for information on explosive techniques and to teach explosives. The informant said he refused, and instead took care of radio communications with Lagacé, one of the accused.
In his conversations with the members over several training sessions, the informant allegedly told police there were derogatory jokes and comments aimed toward Jewish people and that Chabot reportedly mentioned that he didn’t believe in equality between the sexes and used degrading language when talking about women.
The documents allege Chabot also mentioned in a group conversation that a major economic crisis was approaching and posed a risk to society. He reportedly believed that the end of the world was approaching by a foreign country and a zombie invasion.
Police outlined that, as a result, the alleged organizer hatched a plan to seek refuge in the Zec Batiscan-Neilson — a controlled wilderness area near Quebec City — with their families with the goal of occupying and controlling the territory by force.
Informant allegedly saw military equipment being used
The informant allegedly told police Chabot mentioned he had no plans to die in the realization of his plan.
The informant allegedly participated in several training sessions with the group in 2022 and 2023, where he says he saw pieces of military equipment from the Canadian Armed Forces being used — including smoke grenades.
The informant says he distanced himself from the group in May 2023 but alleges that in September of that year, Chabot contacted him to convince him to return. According to the court documents, Chabot also asked the informant to meet with someone with the goal of recruiting him to the group — something the informant reportedly did not do.
The documents allege the members of Hide & Stalk would communicate via Snapchat, Instagram, Signal and Telegram, according to the informant.
(RCMP)
During the interview with police, the former member also reportedly handed over a USB key that contained 75 photos and two videos — several of which included images of the three accused men. He also provided his cellphone to investigators in which he had conversations with the group.
None of the allegations against the accused have been tested in court.
Angers-Audet, Lagacé and Chabot have been denied bail while they wait for their trial.
A fourth individual, Matthew Forbes, of Pont-Rouge, Que., faces charges including possession of firearms, prohibited devices and explosives, and possession of controlled items. Forbes has been granted bail under a lengthy list of conditions that includes wearing a GPS tracking bracelet.
