A youth allegedly involved in terrorist activities of the 764 Network has been placed on a terrorism peace bond.
Late last year, the RCMP Federal Policing – Eastern Region’s National Security Enforcement Section (ER NSES) in New Brunswick began an investigation into a youth who was an active member of an online group in the 764 Network.
The Fredericton Police arrested the youth for uttering threats and public mischief.
The RCMP continued the investigation into the youth’s alleged participation in activities of a terrorist group.
The youth appeared in Fredericton youth court on Wednesday and was placed under the conditions of a terrorism peace bond.
The youth can’t be identified under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.
According to police, the youth allegedly used social media to promote the “violent ideology” of 764. The group was recently added to the federal government’s terrorist entity list.
A press release from the RCMP describes 764 as a group that uses social media and online gaming platforms to recruit and radicalize individuals, spread propaganda and violent extremist narratives, and incite violence online and off-line.
The youth in this case is believed to have been actively extorting victims to self-harm, making threats to schools in New Brunswick and the United States, and producing and distributing online material with the aim of gaining notoriety for the 764 Network.
Police said the terrorism peace bond can be used when investigators are concerned a person’s actions could contribute to a terrorist offence, enabling the use of “robust monitoring and de-escalation tools.”
Insp. Aaron Glode, the officer in charge of the ER NSES said the investigation highlighted the threat of exposure to extremist online spaces and in peer-to-peer networks.
“Be aware of who your children are talking to online and take note if they start to become more private or withdrawn,” Glode said in a release.
ER NSES has been running an education campaign with New Brunswick law enforcement agencies to raise awareness of this trend.
More information and safety tips can be found here.
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