- James Alexander McQuirter
James Alexander McQuirter (born circa 1959) was the
Grand Wizard on the CanadianKnights of the Ku Klux Klan in the 1980s. In 1981 he was charged, along withWolfgang Droege and other white supremacists, with plotting to overthrow the government ofDominica . ["Dominica jailer denies plotter mistreated", "Globe and Mail", March 24, 1982] McQuirter joined the white supremacistWestern Guard as a teenager and first met Droege at the age of 16 in 1975.Warren Kinsella, "Web of Hate:Inside Canada's Far Right Network", HarperCollins (updated paperback edition), 1994, page 249] In 1976, he and Droege attended the "International Patriotic Congress" organized by American Klan leaderDavid Duke and were recruited as Canadian organizers for Duke'sKnights of the Ku Klux Klan . In 1978, McQuirter andArmand Siksna were charged with conspiracy to distribute hate literature following a police raid on Siksna's Toronto apartment.Warren Kinsella, "Web of Hate:Inside Canada's Far Right Network", HarperCollins (updated paperback edition), 1994, page 253-260]McQuirter and Droege subsequently moved to Vancouver to join McQuirter's father in the used car business as well as organize for the Klan. In 1978, McQuirter returned to Toronto and joined the
National Party of Canada 's executive council but, in 1979, he allowed his membership in the party to lapse due to disdain for leaderDon Andrews and resumed his activity with the Klan full time. At its peak, the Canadian chapter of the Klan was estimated by researcher Stanley Barrett to have approximately 2,500 members coming from every province of Canada.Operation Red Dog , the plot to overthrow the government of Dominica and install a white supremacist haven initiated with an American mercenary and Klan sympathizer who came into contact with Droege in 1979. The Dominican government learned of the plot in 1981 and arrestedPatrick John the Dominican who was to be the coup d'etat's figurehead. The FBI arrested Droege inNew Orleans .With the KKK falling into disarray, McQuiter quit in the summer of 1982 with the intention of founding a more moderate organization. In August 1982, McQuirter was charged with conspiracy to murder another Klansman,
Gary MacFarlane because of his abuse of his partner and the perception that he was a security risk to the Klan. McQuirter pleaded guilty. ["Sentence suspended for murder plot", "Globe and Mail", May 27, 1983] He was sentenced in 1983 and served a prison term until 1989 when he was released to a Toronto half-way house.References
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