The Heritage Front Saga
Prior to Droege's release from U.S. custody and subsequent return to Canada, he became convinced that Andrews had somehow arranged his arrest, the final catalyst in the formation of what was to be the Heritage Front. Bristow was along every step of the way, a close confidant of Droege's throughout this period. Bristow claims that he used this confidence to dissuade Droege from undertaking a number of potentially illegal or violent acts. As the Front was formed and began to grow, Bristow documented and relayed to CSIS details of an eco-terrorism plot against North American agriculture being promoted by an American Aryan Nations member to Droege. Bristow managed to talk Droege out of going to Libyan agents in New York with the information, which was altogether scientifically unsound anyhow. It was nonetheless a sobering indication of the extremes to which Droege would go, and provided further justification for the mission to CSIS.
During this period, Bristow got to know the upper echelons of Canadian and international white supremacy and revisionism, serving as a bodyguard for both David Irving and Ernst Zündel. As well, Droege sent Bristow to rendezvous with Terry Long, leader of the Canadian chapter of Aryan Nations. Immediately taking to Bristow, Long passed on the membership list of his group with 180 names for Droege's use, which Bristow copied and provided to CSIS. After this success (and a CSIS-sponsored British vacation), he left with Droege and Zündel for an international Far-right symposium in Germany. In his capacity as security for the Canadian contingent, he video and photodocumented the conference, again providing the data to CSIS. The conference was raided by German Police, however, and Droege and Bristow narrowly avoided arrest. The arrest of Zündel in the raid dashed CSIS' hopes of identifying the major foreign financiers of Canada's Far-right.
Shortly after his return to Canada he was dispatched by the Front to travel to Richard Butler's famed Aryan Nations compound in Idaho. CSIS agreed to this, hoping to acquire the identities of Canadian attendees. It was here that the interconnectedness of the North American Far-right became clear, and the prevailing danger evident. Visits from major American racists like Tom Metzger of White Aryan Resistance were cut short through Bristow's disclosing to CSIS of their whereabouts, so they could be arrested and deported.
Read more about this topic: Grant Bristow
Famous quotes containing the words heritage and/or front:
“It seems to me that upbringings have themes. The parents set the theme, either explicitly or implicitly, and the children pick it up, sometimes accurately and sometimes not so accurately.... The theme may be “Our family has a distinguished heritage that you must live up to” or “No matter what happens, we are fortunate to be together in this lovely corner of the earth” or “We have worked hard so that you can have the opportunities we didn’t have.””
—Calvin Trillin (20th century)
“If you like to make things out of wood, or sew, or dance, or style people’s hair, or dream up stories and act them out, or play the trumpet, or jump rope, or whatever you really love to do, and you love that in front of your children, that’s going to be a far more important gift than anything you could ever give them wrapped up in a box with ribbons.”
—Fred M. Rogers (20th century)