One of the most influential neo-Nazis in North America, responsible for recruiting a network of white supremacists online, was operating secretly in the city of Montreal. But the bombshell reporting published in May by the Montreal Gazette came to the paper by an unusual path: after months of research and reporting by a pair of journalism students at Concordia University, Shannon Carranco and Jon Milton.
The duo worked with Gazette reporter Christopher Curtis to expose militant members of the group that traveled to Charlottesville, Virginia, to take part in the so-called "Unite the Right" white supremacists rally in August of 2017.
The rally ultimately led to the killing of activist Heather Heyer, and injured nearly 40 people.
And the team exposed how the white nationalists groups sowed seeds of misogyny and bigotry, particularly targeting women, to bring new recruits into the large white nationalist movement.
Their reporting also unmasked the identity of the leading neo-Nazi recruiter.
Known by the online name "Zeiger," he was revealed as Gabriel Sohier Chaput, a self-employed IT contractor in his early 30s living in central Montreal.
Carranco joins Vermont Edition to explain how the reporting came together and the impact it had in Montreal and elsewhere in Canada.
Broadcast live on Thursday, Jan. 17, 2019 at noon; rebroadcast at 7 p.m.
