The suspect arrested over the car-ramming attack against “Freedom Convoy” anti-vaccine mandate protesters in Winnipeg is an Antifa member with a long history of far-left militant activism in Canada.
David Alexander Zegarac, 42, of Headingley, Manitoba, allegedly sped off in his Jeep Patriot to try to escape after the incident last Friday, which injured four people and was caught on camera. Zegarac ran multiple lights and resisted arrest when he was finally caught around 40 minutes later, according to the Winnipeg police.
Zegarac was well-known as the frontman and vocalist of several Antifa punk bands since the early 2000s, most notably Brat Attack. He was vocal about his veganism and radical anarchist politics. However, in 2015, record label Rebel Time records dropped the group because of multiple accusations of sexual assault and rape against Zegarac. One of his anonymous accusers said she was only 13 when he allegedly groomed her and raped her. Police said he does not have a criminal history in Manitoba, though he has also lived in British Columbia and Newfoundland.
Zegarac’s music is extremely political and often features violent extremist themes consistent with the subgenre of anti-fascist punk. One of the tracks from Brat Attack was written about the former Conservative prime minister, Stephen Harper. Titled “Hey Harper You Anti-Choice Homophobe F,— Die Die Die,” it includes the lyrics: “This is class war, you rich white f—ks. Ruling class is s— out of luck. Your god is f–king dead, I shot him in the head.”
On Deviant Art, Zegarac posted Antifa art under the username “DaveyBrat.” One illustration uploaded in 2011 shows an Antifa member in black hurling a firebomb. Zegarac’s YouTube channel features his music and performances. A song from seven years ago is called “Bash the Fash” and the video features the Antifa black and red flag logo.
On Zegarac’s Facebook, he has mocked anti-mandate protesters and in one post from November 2020, wrote, “I dont know why folk are hating on masks….I love mine.”
With the revelation of Zegarac’s name and his deep roots in Canada’s Antifa punk scene, Antifa supporters who know him are going into damage control. Winnipeg Punks, whose current avatar on Facebook is a crossed-out truck, released a statement distancing themselves from him.
“Dave is despised by every group or organization he’s ever claimed to represent. ARA [Anti-Racist Action], Antifa, Punk. He’s a poseur!” wrote the group in a statement. “He has a reputation of assault and violence. How many young (underage) women in the local music scene and other provinces have come forward with allegations of sexual assault against Dave over the years?”
Zegarac has been charged with 11 offenses. They include four counts of assault with a weapon, two counts of dangerous operation of a conveyance causing bodily harm, two counts of failure to stop after an accident knowing reckless cause of bodily harm, two counts of failing to stop at the scene of an accident and one count of dangerous operation of a conveyance. A Winnipeg police spokesman said in a news conference Saturday that they couldn’t speak to the driver’s motivations.