Alberta RCMP Announce Additional Charges for Teen Arrested for Terrorism

The RCMP logo is seen at a news conference on June 24, 2023. The Canadian Press/Adrian Wyld

An Edmonton teenager is facing new charges of terrorism, violating a terrorism peace bond, and child pornography offences, according to RCMP. The teen was already in custody for terrorism charges laid earlier this year.

The 15-year-old was originally arrested in May, accused of being involved with a “transnational online ecosystem of violent online predators” that lures children and teens, encouraging them to “commit sexual acts, self-harm, and the torture of animals,” RMCP said at the time.

The group, called the 764 network, is known to have “extreme ideological views,” RCMP said. They added that the network was “desensitizing” children and “radicalizing them to violence.”

After “escalatory behaviour” in a February 2025 incident, the teen became subject to a terrorism peace bond, and was already in custody at the Edmonton Youth Offender Centre when most recently arrested, RCMP said in an Oct. 23 news release.

RCMP said that after the youth was arrested earlier this year, a forensic examination of their personal electronic devices was conducted. During that investigation, evidence that was gathered led to additional charges, according to police.

The teen now faces additional charges of participating in the activity of a terrorist group, facilitating terrorist activity, willful promotion of hatred, uttering threats, failure to comply with sentence or disposition, and possession of child pornography.

RCMP said the teen remains in custody at the Edmonton Youth Offender Centre and was scheduled to appear in court on Oct. 24.

RCMP said the investigation is ongoing, and that they were not able to release any further information about the teen due to the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

RCMP said that education was the “first line of defense” when dealing with groups like the 764 network that uses youth to target other young people online. Police add that empowering young people to “recognize manipulation” and “resist extremism” will allow the internet to be reclaimed as a “space for growth, not grooming.”

Anyone with information about suspicious activities is encouraged to contact the RCMP at 1-800-420-5805 or online at http://www.rcmp.ca/report-it. For emergencies, people are asked to call 911 or their local police department.

In a December 2024 report, the RCMP warned of an increase of “radicalisation” of youth who “support, plan or undertake terrorist activities.”

The report said that over the last 30 years, extremists have “adopted” the internet for their activities.

“Online environments provide an avenue for first approaches to minors, including through seemingly innocuous social media and gaming platforms, such as Discord, Instagram, Roblox and TikTok,” it said.

The report said that “violent extremism” was more accessible as it can be created within the platforms.

“Agencies stress the importance of parents and guardians understanding their children’s online activities, so they can identify if their children are engaging with content online which may lead to radicalisation.”