UPDATE: Pierre Poilievre's complaint didn't influence 'Diagolon' leader's arrest, RCMP says

(UPDATE: Sept. 29 @ 11:11 am): The RCMP says Jeremy MacKenzie’s arrest was not influenced by Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s request to have the Mounties look into comments about his wife.

The founder of the online group "Diagolon" was arrested on Wednesday in Cole Harbour, NS, on a Canada-wide warrant related to charges laid by the Mounties in Saskatchewan in July.

MacKenzie was charged with assault, pointing a firearm, mischief and using a restricted weapon in a careless manner after police received a report about an alleged assault near Viscount, Sask., in November 2021.

Poilievre said Monday he asked the RCMP to look into "disgusting" comments MacKenzie made during a weekend livestream about sexually assaulting his wife, Anaida Poilievre.

In a statement, the RCMP says a Saskatchewan-wide warrant for MacKenzie's arrest was changed to a Canada-wide warrant on Sept. 21, five days before Poilievre's request.

The RCMP says the process of extending that warrant took nearly two weeks because Crown prosecutors needed to collect documents from police in Quebec and Nova Scotia.

(Original story: Sept. 29 @ 5:50 am): Jeremy MacKenzie, the founder of the online group "Diagolon," was arrested in Nova Scotia on Wednesday on charges related to an allegation of assault in Saskatchewan from last year.

The Nova Scotia RCMP say he was arrested in Cole Harbour, N.S., on a Canada-wide warrant related to charges laid by the Mounties in Saskatchewan in July.

"MacKenzie will be remanded into custody as part of the court process related to his arrest warrant," Nova Scotia RCMP spokesman Cpl. Chris Marshall wrote in an emailed statement.

The Saskatchewan RCMP said this summer he was charged with assault, pointing a firearm, mischief and using a restricted weapon in a careless manner after they received a report in March this year about an alleged assault near Viscount, Sask., in November 2021.

The 36-year-old was also charged in his home province of Nova Scotia with 13 firearms-related offences after a police search in January.

MacKenzie was charged with harassment and intimidation in March in connection with an anti-mask protest outside the home of Nova Scotia's chief medical officer of health, Dr. Robert Strang.

On Monday, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre asked the RCMP to investigate MacKenzie after he talked about sexually assaulting Poilievre's wife, Anaida, during a livestream on the weekend.