In a two-day sentencing hearing, experts testified about the impact of Patrick Macdonald, the man once known as Dark Foreigner, and his work for the Atomwaffen Division.
Peter Smith
Canadian Anti-Hate Network
Patrick Macdonald leaving the Ottawa Courthouse on June 25, 2025. Source: Peter Smith/Canadian Anti-Hate Network
Patrick Macdonald sits behind his lawyer in a mostly empty court gallery. Despite being the focus of the legal proceedings taking place, he has been silent throughout.
With his two-day sentencing hearing on terrorism charges coming to a close, the man once known to the world only by the name Dark Foreigner addresses the court in a final statement. Reading quickly from prepared comments, he apologized for his work supporting neo-Nazi movements.
“I am sorry for the awful things I said and drew. I wish to never do anything like this again.”
He apologized to Muslims, Jewish, Asian, and Black communities. “I take full responsibility for all my actions. My remorse is sincere, and I hope you can accept it.”
Already found guilty in April 2025 on three terrorism charges for his prolific run creating propaganda for the Atomwaffen Division (AWD)—which the Government of Canada designated a terrorist organization in 2021—Macdonald’s lawyer is asking that he serve a six- to eight-year sentence, while the Crown prosecutor recommended 14 years.
Justice R Smith set a date for September 8, 2025, to give his decision.
One thing is sure: Macdonald is going to prison.
The Crown called two experts to testify about the impact of Dark Foreigner’s work on the broader neo-Nazi movement.
This included Matthew Kriner, executive director of the Institute for Countering Digital Extremism, and an RCMP analyst whose identity is protected by a publication ban. Referred to in the official record as “the analyst,” they entered the court in a medical mask, sunglasses and a hat.
[Disclosure: The Canadian Anti-Hate Network and its staff have previously worked with Matthew Kriner.]
Kriner has written extensively about the Atomwaffen Division, their philosophy of militant accelerationism, and Macdonald’s arrest.
He explained to the court that the goal of militant accelerationism, the philosophy espoused by Atomwaffen, is to “exacerbate underlying social tensions” to hasten the collapse of society through violence.
The Crown showed Kriner a recruitment poster created by Macdonald for AWD, asking individuals to “join the Atomwaffen Division.”
Asked about the three videos that Macdonald created that resulted in his charges, Kriner said, “Different elements inside the video say they are seeking a violent solution…The videos are a clear recruitment tool.”
He added that the videos were “crucial for the spread of Atomwaffen in our assessments.”
He also discussed the numerous digital platforms used by Macdonald to attempt to reach a receptive audience. Like many individuals associated with Atomwaffen Division, the web forum Iron March was one of the earliest venues for Dark Foreigner-branded artwork.
Calling Iron March a “town square” for different aspects of the extreme far right, Kriner testified that from there, Macdonald branched out to have accounts on numerous mainstream and alternative social media platforms.
Macdonald’s arrest, according to Kriner, did not garner significant attention or worry from the current militant acceleration movement. The works he created continue to be shared by others, primarily over the encrypted chat and media sharing application Telegram.
Defence attorney Douglas Baum argued that the works are in the public domain and Macdonald has no control over who posts them or where.
He also pointed to a note in an article about Macdonald, where Kriner and his co-author wrote that “while Macdonald himself was not part of the violent, neo-Nazi organisations he produced content for, his efforts considerably boosted their recruitment capabilities.”
Macdonald also created artwork for the Sonnenkrieg Division, another militant accelerationist group that was based in the United Kingdom. Both the UK and Australian governments have listed Sonnenkrieg as a terrorist entity.
Baum said his impression was that Dark Foreigner’s “status never rose above that of an illustrator” and points to the lack of a manifesto written by or attributed to Macdonald.
When Kriner stepped down, the defence argued that the testimony was overly prejudicial and exceeded the scope of the indictment. Justice Smith ruled that the evidence was of value and he would consider it.
The next person to take the stand was “the analyst” from the RCMP. They were tasked with assessing the impact of Dark Foreigner’s work on other RCMP investigations. This includes times when the artwork or materials credited to Macdonald appeared in criminal and non-criminal investigations.
Baum was able to successfully argue that the value of the testimony was overshadowed by its potential to cause bias. Large sections of the analyst's report were excluded.
A representative from B'nai Brith, Henry Topas, read a statement about the impact of Macdonald’s work on the Jewish community.
He says Macdonald called for a revolution to “destroy the Jewish system.”
Topas added that “such acts are not only criminal in nature, they are an affront to Canadian values.”
Two other alleged former members of the Atomwaffen Division, Kristoffer Nippak and Matthew Althorpe are awaiting trial on terrorism charges of their own. According to the RCMP, Althorpe and Nippak from Ontario are alleged to have participated in the creation of videos for the Atomwaffen Division (AWD).
Althorpe is facing additional charges related to the creation of a series of manifestos and terrorism manuals for the Terrorgram Collective.
While most of the men charged in an alleged plot to seize part of Quebec have little-known public online presence, one of the accused’s social media shows an intense interest in guns and a proximity to the far-right.
After being found guilty of promoting a terrorist neo-Nazi group in December, a three day sentencing hearing will determine Patrick Macdonald’s punishment for his work as Dark Foreigner.
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