EDMONTON—For the first time in three months, yellow vest supporters had their weekly meeting grounds taken over by counter protesters, who rallied at the Alberta legislature on Saturday to counter what they call “hate, lies and conspiracies” in the yellow vest movement.

The two groups were separated by a police barricade, and got into a shouting match about racism and hate groups before the yellow vest supporters decided to leave, which prompted cheers from the group who organized Saturday’s event. They also held a dance party to the tune of “We are the Champions.”

Police escorted two yellow vest supporters from the Alberta legislature grounds, but could not confirm why or if they were facing charges.

Anne Williams, one of the organizers of Saturday’s event, said they decided to hold a more formal counter protest because they’ve been alarmed by the presence of extremist groups at yellow vest rallies, as well as what they perceive to be harassment of local businesses and houses of worship.

“I’m really happy with how many people came out to support, and how we were able to keep it non-violent, attempt conversation and finally have the podium,” Williams said. “Because we’ve just been showing up as counter protesters for three months.”

The Canadian yellow vest supporters have been rallying at the Alberta legislature since early December, in support of the energy industry and in protest of the UN migration pact, which organizers have claimed will open Canada’s borders to mass migration.

The movement started in France in support of working-class people and in opposition to business-friendly reform and a high cost of living. In Canada, the economy is central to the movement, but so are positions of anti-globalism, nationalism and anti-illegal immigration.

In Edmonton, groups such as the Wolves of Odin and Canadian Combat Coalition, considered hate groups by the Canadian Anti-Hate Network, have had a strong presence at yellow vest rallies since they arrived here.

“(The numbers are) slowly decreasing in yellow vests and increasing in hate groups, to be honest,” Williams, who has been attending the rallies since Saturday, said.

Members of the group that organized Saturday’s event were holding signs with what they say are screenshots from yellow vest Facebook pages, showing commenters posting in support of the shooter in the mass killings at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand on Friday.

Williams said she’s been assaulted and threatened at rallies and online.

“One of the people who was the most threatening, he was glorifying what had happened in New Zealand and saying how much it excited him. And he literally made gunning motions at us last week,” she said.

“We’ve been flagging him to police for three months but today I feel like because of the work we’ve been doing and the accountability we’ve been looking for, they had to do something.”

Dylan Michaels, one of the speakers at Saturday’s event, said he and other activists have been “monitoring” groups such as The Clann (a splinter group of the Wolves of Odin) and the Canadian Combat Coalition, both at the rallies and online. Particularly on Facebook, he said yellow vest supporters have been spreading conspiracies, threatening counter protesters and attempting to dox them, which is when an individual’s private information, such as their personal home address, is posted online.

“I’m concerned there are people out there who are trying to purposely spread conspiracies and hate to divide people,” Michaels said. “Unfortunately the yellow vests were the perfect movement to get a bunch of people together, and that includes people who believe in certain conspiracies and just fuel lies.”

He said Saturday’s event was in the works before the shootings at two mosques in New Zealand on Friday. But after that, he decided to highlight some of the vitriolic and hateful comments he saw on yellow vest Facebook groups in support of the New Zealand attacker, to show how the groups are encouraging radicalization.

“What I saw was absolutely disgusting,” Michaels said. “I saw people who live in Edmonton, and surrounding communities, that were supporting (the attacker). There were some comments on the the yellow vests pages that were deeply disturbing.”

The comments and events around the world further highlight why it’s important to call out and counter hate, Michaels added.

“I think if people are spreading this type of hate and openly throwing Seig Heils, and saying some really awful stuff online, and to be honest trying to recruit, you need to pay attention,” he said.

Patricia Ovelson, a yellow vest supporter who has been attending rallies for months, didn’t seem too bothered by the accusations of racism and sympathy for white supremacists directed towards her group.

But she insisted the movement at its core is not against immigration in general, but only illegal immigration, and disputed the idea that yellow vest supporters are racist.

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“I don’t think we are what they’re saying we are … We’re not the racists,” Ovelson said.

She also said the movement is not about any one issue, but about Canada’s “survival.”

“This doesn’t have anything to do with Muslims. We’re all immigrants … We’re all Canadian, we all want the same thing. To live in unity.”

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