Authored by Phil Gurski via The Epoch Times,

Remember Chicken Little (a.k.a. Henny Penny)? She was the one running around warning that the sky was falling and spreading panic all around. In the end, the heavens were not, in fact, plummeting, and we now use the phrase “Chicken Little” to describe those who spread myths about danger that are ill-founded.

Last week, Canadians learned of an “imminent” plot by four men in Quebec, including two members of the Armed Forces, that probably came as a bombshell (no pun intended) to those tuning in.

This “anti-authoritarian militia” had weapons, planned to seize land, had engaged in “training,” and appeared to be recruiting like-minded people online.

The self-styled “national security experts” consulted by print, radio, and television media - I did nine interviews in three days on this issue, but generally eschew the moniker “expert” -  all saw this as the end of civilization as we know it and that we in Canada had dodged a bullet (!) at the 11th hour.

Except that very little of this “analysis” was accurate.

In fact, the RCMP had seized the weaponry in the possession of this “militia” - 80 firearms, 11,000 bullets, and 16 explosive devices - in January, of 2024! A full 18 months before they made the arrests. Yes, these amateurs could very well have obtained more guns, but there is nothing in the open media to suggest they did. Furthermore, that the RCMP knew about these guys a year and a half ago means they had a good idea of who they were and what they were up to.

Many were confused as to the time lag.

Why wait so long between weapon confiscation and arrests/charges? Simple: what else could the Mounties learn about this gang?

Were there others involved? Did their “plot” ever get more plausible? Was there really a “plot” in the end?

As an RCMP spokesperson noted, there was never a threat to the public.

This demonstrates, to me, that the force had everything they needed, possibly through surveillance, federal court wiretaps, and human agent penetration.

This was actually a huge investigative success, not a potential disaster. In other words, they had the whole thing under control at all times.

In addition, the incompetence of the “militia” was made clear when Canadians learned that they were recruiting on social media (Instagram).

This weakness underscores a terribly unprofessional comsec (communications security) practice and demonstrates the very ridiculousness of their venture.

These were not the sharpest pencils in anyone’s box. It is fortunate that most extremists, in my experience, are that stupid.

Yes, far right extremism, including “anti-authoritarianism” and ‘”accelerationism” (those with the belief that the existing state of society is irreparable and that the only solution is the destruction and collapse of the “system”), appears to be on the rise in the West.

A number of Canada’s allies, including the United States and Germany, are seeing a link between these ideologues and their serving armed forces.

The main takeaway, however, is that the law enforcement and security intelligence agencies are up to speed on this threat and I am confident they are monitoring it to the best of their ability given their finite resources.

We also need to stop suggesting that our armies, navies, and air forces are rife with neo-Nazis, fascists, and their ilk.

What is not acceptable, nevertheless, is the conviction that this particular form of terrorist threat has risen to the top in the world.

Jihadis still kill and maim at scales orders of magnitude larger than any other extremist movement and will likely continue to do so for the foreseeable future.

No one seems to want to say that, maybe for fear of being labelled an Islamophobe or a “racist” (I have been called both on many occasions).

The RCMP has rightly charged these individuals with planning an act of terrorism as defined under section 83.01 of the Canadian Criminal Code—even if their chances of actually doing something were only slightly above zero. The far right has risen over the past decade, although, again, jihadis still rule the terrorist roost, and our protectors are looking at all these actors, as they should.

The average citizen, however, needs to be assured that the threat they pose is neither imminent nor existential. It would be unfortunate if a group got lucky and was able to carry out an attack despite the best efforts of our police officers and spies, although that is probably inevitable given the number of investigative priorities and finite resources.  Many more will be stopped, thankfully, due to the former’s efforts.

Pushing the panic button is neither necessary nor useful.  We should leave the running around and shouting to the birds of children’s tales, not the front pages of our media.

Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times or ZeroHedge.