69: Small Towns Under Siege
The Quiet Storm in Local Communities
Across North America, small towns and suburban municipalities are grappling with a growing and alarming phenomenon: extremists leveraging the Internet to fuel campaigns of intimidation, disinformation, and disruption. These actors, often driven by conspiracy theories and a deep distrust of government, are targeting local officials and residents, transforming once-peaceful communities into battlegrounds. The stories of Pickering, Ontario, and Richmound, Saskatchewan, provide chilling case studies of how these tactics unfold and the potential consequences for other municipalities.
Case 1: Pickering’s Council in Crisis
In Pickering, Ontario, a city councillor, Lisa Robinson, has become a lightning rod for controversy. Her actions—ranging from incendiary social media posts to tacit approval of violent rhetoric—have plunged the council into chaos. Supporters of Robinson have disrupted council meetings, issued threats, and created a climate of fear among other councillors and city staff.
The incidents began with Robinson’s controversial statements on LGBTQ+ issues and escalated to her involvement in a podcast where violent language against her colleagues was endorsed. While Robinson’s pay has been docked multiple times, the harshest sanction currently allowed under Ontario’s Municipal Act, the penalties have done little to deter her or her supporters.
Council meetings now require police presence, and members are calling for legislative reforms to remove councillors whose actions cross a line into harassment or threats. However, the escalating threats and disruptions have pushed the council to move meetings online, citing safety concerns for officials, staff, and residents (CBC News). What stands out in Pickering is the calculated use of social media to rally support and vilify those opposing Robinson. Her supporters’ tactics, including disruptions and online harassment, reveal how local governance can be weaponized to erode trust and disrupt the normal functioning of government. Pickering’s experience warns of how fragile local authority can become in the face of coordinated extremist campaigns.
Case 2: Richmound’s Invasion
In Richmound, Saskatchewan, a village of just 130 residents, the arrival of Romana Didulo—a self-proclaimed “Queen of Canada”—and her followers disrupted the community’s tranquility. Didulo’s group occupied an abandoned school, issuing threats to residents and spreading conspiracies that labeled local officials and dissenting voices as traitors or worse.
The tension escalated as Didulo’s group used social media to rally support and intimidate opponents. While community protests and police interventions eventually led to the group’s temporary departure, their return underscored the resilience of their tactics and the vulnerability of small towns to such invasions. The situation has also spurred political activity, as the village’s recent elections became a referendum on how to handle the ongoing cult presence (Medicine Hat News).
The case of Richmound highlights the dangers of rural isolation, where extremists can seize on a lack of institutional defenses to embed themselves. The occupation of the school became a symbol of how conspiracy movements can transform local landmarks into outposts of their ideologies. The ongoing challenges for Richmound’s residents illustrate the personal and communal costs of resisting such invasions, from heightened tensions to fears for personal safety.
Lessons from the Frontlines
The stories of Pickering and Richmound are not merely isolated events but a microcosm of a broader societal trend. They illustrate how extremism thrives in an atmosphere of distrust, exploiting digital platforms to amplify voices of dissent and target those who uphold public service. These examples reveal the intricate interplay between local vulnerabilities and global movements, showing how the erosion of trust in institutions can begin in the most unexpected places.
In Pickering, the calculated weaponization of local governance demonstrates how fragile democratic processes can become when subjected to coordinated extremist pressure. In Richmound, the occupation of physical space underscores the capacity of such groups to disrupt even the smallest and most insulated communities. Together, these cases reveal a troubling future for other municipalities if such tactics remain unchecked.
As the United States prepares for the potential return of Donald Trump to power, the dynamics seen in Pickering and Richmound offer a troubling preview of what may unfold on a larger scale. Trump’s ability to galvanize a base of loyal supporters through a mix of conspiratorial rhetoric and targeted disinformation could supercharge these localized patterns of extremism, turning small towns and suburbs across the U.S. into flashpoints of conflict.
The interplay of digital mobilization and local intimidation has already been seen in the U.S., with incidents such as the January 6 Capitol attack serving as a national-level demonstration. Under Trump’s leadership, the normalization of such tactics could cascade down to local communities, where disinformation-driven movements exploit weak governance and polarized populations to discredit institutions and undermine democracy itself.