At approximately 1:30 AM on Monday, November 8, five masked individuals invaded the home of Bonnie and Jason Devine, long-time anti-racist campaigners in Alberta, Canada. The intruders, armed with bats and hammers, overwhelmed Jason Devine and a friend who was visiting. Jason’s friend was beaten over the head and had his arm broken, while Jason Devine was badly beaten by all five intruders, sustaining a concussion and also requiring stitches at the hospital where both the injured were brought. Nothing was stolen from the Devine family home during this incident, although the family car, laptop computer, and other property was damaged; initial reports of a “home invasion robbery” are clearly unfounded. The Devine’s four children were asleep at the time of the attack. The five attackers—believed to be neo-Nazis—fled in a dark SUV.

Preceding the attack on the Devine household, Anti-Racist Action Calgary had distributed flyers in an area where neo-Nazis affiliated with Blood & Honour/Aryan Guard currently live. (Note: the Aryan Guard seems to have merged into the Blood & Honour/Combat 18 neo-Nazi network, not to be confused with the rival Blood & Honour network linked to Volksfront International.) Jason and Bonnie Devine are the only members of Anti-Racist Action Calgary who have a public presence in their own names, and Jason Devine has been targeted by neo-Nazis four previous times, including a February 2008 firebomb attack against a previous residence.

Calgary Police responded to this brutal attack by calling Children and Youth Services regarding the Devines’ children, due to the violence suffered by Jason Devine. These children have been allowed to return home. The attitude of the Calgary Police is unfortunately all too common when anti-racists are targeted by white supremacists.

Rose City Antifascists believe that solidarity is essential in any successful antifascist movement, and urge a maximum of support for Calgary antifascists in the aftermath of this attack. We do not share all the politics of the Devines (who are also activists within the Communist Party of Canada) but continue to agree with the Anti-Racist Action Network’s Points of Unity: “In this movement an attack on one is an attack on us all. We stand behind each other.” It is now time to stand by the Devine family and our antifascist comrades in Calgary.

The ARA Network set up a Paypal account to aid the Devine’s with expenses in the aftermath of the attack. Donations can be sent via Paypal to: support [ at ] antiracistaction [ dot ] org.

For those interested in reading about Anti-Racist Action Calgary, their website is here.

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