Online Radicalization ‘Concerning,’ RCMP Says After 5th Minor Arrested on Terrorism Charges in 2023

A youth was arrested and charged on Dec. 15 for two terrorist-related offences, in what the RCMP said was a plot directed against the Jewish community.

The RCMP logo is seen outside the force’s “E” division headquarters in Surrey, B.C., on Mar. 16, 2023. The Canadian Press/Darryl Dyck

The federal police force says it’s noticing a “concerning trend” of violent extremism and of terrorists using the internet as it arrested another youth on terrorism-related offences—the fifth this year.

The RCMP raised the alarm in a Dec. 16 statement indicating it had arrested and charged a young person in Ottawa for two terrorist-related offences the day before, in what was said to be a plot directed against the Jewish community. The youth was also accused of having explosives in his possession.