They also party in the most extreme Nazi-themed basement we have ever seen.
Peter Smith
Canadian Anti-Hate Network
Source: Facebook
Photos posted online reveal that members of an Ontario motorcycle riding club have added swastikas to their cuts, party in a Nazi-themed basement, and even find the time to pose armed in the woods.
A recent picture online shows three of its members posed in a snow-covered rural clearing. Offset by the calming pine green in the background, all three men are brandishing firearms.
Eric McLachlan, Dave Dart and Mark Johnston have been identified as the men in the photographs based on their public social media presence.
Each uses their personal Facebook pages to proudly rep their club online. Though despite a clear willingness to show off this affiliation, the club does not appear to be on the radar of police or the media. We found no reporting on the Saxons, which appears to have been in existence since at least 2017. There is a similarly named Saxons MC in the USA, but the groups appear unrelated.
Police sources we tapped were not familiar with the group. This is not uncommon for an RC, which tend to shy away from actual criminal activity.
There are also no laws against having an impromptu photo shoot with friends and firearms in the woods, but what is interesting is that two of the members are wearing their “cuts” -- jackets adorned with nicknames, ranks, and most famously, the back patch. These features signify various details about the organization.
In what appears to be a recent addition, sown onto the lower-left portion of their jackets is a patch bearing a Nazi eagle with its wings folded down towards a swastika.
This symbol appears to be based on a helmet decal worn by members of the German Army under Adolf Hitler. The bird was borrowed from Germany’s reichsadler, an eagle pictured on its traditional coat of arms. and was the symbol of the new National Socialist regime.
Dart is not wearing his jacket, but another photo from one of a few Facebook profiles attributed to him, show him sporting the same iconography, this time above the words “Buck 80.”
In another image from their arboreal photo spread includes McLachlan posing with what appears to be a Ruger 10/22 rifle. The clip is shown loaded to capacity.
The Saxons RC is based out of Oshawa, Ontario, and has a small membership of around 10 or 11 people. Other recent pictures of known members do not appear to include the swastikas, indicating the possibility the patch may not be worn group-wide.
Social media posts from Johnston include a picture of him holding a weapon in 2017, framed with a confederate flag. A comment on the post, which Johnston liked, reads “Ye Ha! On my way to the Gay Pride Parade. FTW!”
A response to requests for comment from the three members of the Saxons shown in the picture was not received by time of publication.
Swastika patches aside, it also appears that Nazi and racist imagery and themes have been a regular fixture in Johnston’s life -- and potentially his basement.
In the leadup to a party on April 20, 2014, a day celebrated by cannabis lovers as 4/20 and Hitler lovers as their leader’s day of birth, Johnston posted an image of a Nazi pocket watch, adorned with a similar eagle and swastika insignia.
“That time of year again,” he wrote in the caption, “to get ready for The 18th Annual 4-20 Spring Bash at the Bunker.”
While easily dismissed as a joke around the coinciding dates, what particularly paints Johnston in an unflattering light is his choice of interior decoration. In the comments section of the same post, he includes photos of the venue. The windows and exposed ceiling suggest the party was being held in a residential basement.
Adorned from wall to wall with Nazi flags, memorabilia, iconography, and even a mannequin dressed in an SS uniform flanking a full bar, a closer look reveals the volume that makes up the assortment of Nazi tchotchkes hang across the walls.
Besides the swastikas (which really jump out at you), there is also repeated uses of the key and shield symbol of the First SS Panzer division alongside a series of photographs of Nazi and white power paraphernalia, with some specific to Oshawa.
Do you have any information about Eric McLachlan, Dave Dart and Mark Johnston or the Saxons RC in Oshawa? Email us at [email protected].
Follow Peter Smith on Twitter at @misterEpete.
One Canadian man awaiting trial for terrorism charges related to the Atomwaffen Division is also alleged to be one of the pseudonymous authors of the collective’s manifestos.
How venues and community members can identify and avoid booking far-right performers looking for a platform, and what to do if you already have.
Organizers say the protests will continue indefinitely until the tax is repealed.