1. I haven’t tweeted much about the Corey Hurren story before, mainly because there was no info. But, @MercedesGlobal just did an amazing report, which I can’t stop thinking about. Here are some scattered thoughts just to get them out of my head. https://twitter.com/mercedesglobal/status/1280674292360007680?s=12

2. Background:
- July 2 at 6:05am: Hurren posts meme related to Event 201, a supposed simulation event of the pandemic that happened in October 2019, and much fodder for conspiracy folks.
- 6:40am Hurren rams truck into the gates of Rideau Hall.

3. Before all this, according to @MercedesGlobal's reporting, Hurren penned a 2-page letter, which she describes as a mix of “personal despair and financial distress”. The pandemic had put him, apparently, in deep financial problems.

4. He writes that he “cannot keep living in his current pain”, that he is worried that this truck could be repossessed at any moment. He then turns to Trudeau and argues against gun control measures put into effect by Trudeau government & calls Canada “a communist dictatorship”.

5. He goes on to say that he cannot handle another year “under house arrest” (COVID lockdown), and that his actions are designed to be a wake up call for the country.

He drove from Manitoba to Ottawa, arriving on Canada Day. He visited the War Museum, only to find it closed.

6. A lot of us who research political violence have often wondered how COVID might contribute to violence going forward. And I think this is a clear case. I don’t know if it’s “terrorism”, and I don’t have the energy for that debate right now. But:

7. This is exactly the second order effects of quarantine that people mentioned back in March: Your life falls apart around you. All of the “constants” in your life, things that give you meaning and purpose and a sense of normalcy, start to flutter away. You’re hit financially.

8. The company you run that gave you pride is decimated.

You look around for something to blame, and there’s nothing. The pandemic doesn’t have a face. This is the “cognitive opening” that gives way to conspiratorial thinking in some. Conspiracies come in to explain things:

9. Conspiracies take events out of the realm of abstraction, and give them a face. Someone to blame. And not ANY someone, but shady diabolical actors who know exactly what they are doing. Your life falling apart around you is no longer just random.

10. I think people are reversing the role of conspiracy in some of the reporting I’ve seen: he’s not a Q supporter or a COVID conspiracy theorist who also was going through financial trouble. It’s the conspiracy that explains and makes sense of the financial troubles.

11. Anyway, thanks for coming to my TED talk. I’m perfectly prepared for all of this to be proven wrong tomorrow after @MercedesGlobal goes to work and does more of her magic. But, my two pennies based on what we know so far.

12. Ok, fine. So, do I think this is terrorism? Depends on your definition. If "ideology" is integral to your definition, probably not.

But:

13. If you use, say, the FBI definition - "unlawful use of force or violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a Government or civilian population in furtherance of political or social objectives" - I would say, probably. At least, based on his letter.

14/14. That's all for now. I'll wait for more reporting on this. Night!