A self-proclaimed “great leader” of a militia, Alex Louis Fallara is a time bomb: his goal is to overthrow the Canadian government by taking control of state buildings. This Montreal revolutionary, who has already tried to buy a rocket launcher from a double agent, is too dangerous to be released, argues a judge.
Posted at 5:00 a.m.
Walls pierced by crossbow arrows. A 22 caliber rifle, an air gun (pellet gun), ammunition, a katana and a crossbow in a cocked position. By accompanying a bailiff to evict the 26-year-old man last May, the police made this disturbing discovery in his unsanitary apartment in the Notre-Dame-de-Grâce district.
Facing multiple firearms charges, Alex Louis Fallara hoped to regain his freedom during the court process. However, Judge Mélanie Hébert ordered his detention on June 23 because of his excessive risk to public safety.
In front of me, he says it’s not violent, but when we listen to him, he talks about the possibility of occupying a government building and maintaining the occupation. We are talking about a balance of power with the government, which is taking up arms.
Judge Melanie Hébert
Already, in 2017, Alex Louis Fallara claimed the fall of the Canadian government. Very active online within a far-left pro-Russian group, he was in the crosshairs of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and American authorities. According to a report by the RCMP, the Montrealer called on his cronies to take officials hostage, or even to attack the prison, if ever he was imprisoned.
On the Russian social network VK, he wrote in French in December 2016 to be ready to be “killed” or “executed” to inspire a revolt in Quebec.
He even provided an RCMP double agent with a list of specific weapons he wanted for his militia, including an RPG-style rocket launcher and AK-74 assault rifles.
However, he did not have the resources to do so. The 2017 report concludes that Fallara posed a risk to the public due to his supposedly 100-strong militia.
Without being charged with a crime, the Montrealer was subjected to very severe conditions by a judge in 2017. For a year, he was prohibited from possessing explosives or “terrorist material”, from carrying a bag in a public gathering and to be near the House of Commons or the National Assembly.
Examples for “overthrowing the government”
Five years later, the behavior of Alex Louis Fallara has “worsened”. He took a “concrete step in the advancement of [son] ideology to intrinsic violence” by acquiring firearms, said Judge Hébert. Now, the young man gives specific examples to “overthrow the government”.
The plan of his Coalition is to take control of government buildings when it is empty, to settle and keep control of these places, to then make a public video and communicate to the population the effective control of the government.
The Crown prosecutor, Mr.e Gael Fortin-Scott
In a mixture of fiction, ideas of grandeur and real facts, Alex Louis Fallara gave a glimpse of his ideology while testifying within the framework of the investigation into his release. The Montrealer claims to be the leader of the “Order of Louis-Riel”, a “constitutional coalition” aimed at demonstrating the illegality of Canada and the primacy of the ancestral rights of the First Nations.
Without providing tangible proof, Alex Louis Fallara claims to have indigenous blood, like 60% of Quebecers. In fact, only 2.3% of Quebecers have an Aboriginal identity, according to Statistics Canada. He even criticizes the First Nations for promoting hatred by refusing to recognize the Aboriginal blood of Quebecers. He keeps calling himself “Louis Desneiges” in Mohawk.
Because of his origins, he claims to have the right to “self-defense”.
Moreover, the “hundreds of thousands” of members of his Coalition in America, including ex-soldiers and ex-police officers, are “armed” by virtue of their ancestral rights, he alleges. The young man claims to have “more efficient” weapons such as AK-47s. However, these are stored by “Warriors” on Aboriginal reserves.
Before the judge, Alex Louis Fallara vaguely describes the “other phases” of his plan, including a food self-sufficiency project in Nord-du-Québec with members of the Coalition. He then tries to reassure himself. “You have absolutely nothing to worry about our movement, because we are not from the bad world,” he insists. ” Zero. No fear,” he insists.
Mental health issues involved
In the eyes of the Crown, even if it is difficult to separate the “true from the false”, it is legitimate to believe that the accused himself may want to “take action against the government”.
He’s armed, we don’t know what he can do.
The Crown prosecutor, Mr.e Gael Fortin-Scott
According to the defense, Alex Louis Fallara’s remarks are pure fabrications made in the context of a mental health problem. Its “organization” does not really exist. “If we put him in detention, it’s just kicking the cane further and reinforcing the feeling of injustice towards the state,” argued Ms.e Julien Hudon Lespair.
The accused claims to be “Asperger’s” and to have post-traumatic stress, without any diagnosis to prove it. He also refuses tooth and nail to take any medication that could be prescribed to him. “I will defend for my medical rights. Absolutely, absolutely, absolutely out of the question for medication,” he said.
Is his armed militia real or is it the result of his mental illness? asks Judge Hébert. Without a diagnosis, it’s hard to say. And in any case, his words are “disturbing” and the defense exit plan is clearly insufficient to protect the public, according to the judge.
The case will return to court in a few weeks.