Métis National Council President meets with Their Majesties King Charles III and Queen Camilla
OTTAWA, ON, May 27, 2025 /CNW/ - President Victoria Pruden of the Métis National Council met with His Majesty King Charles III and Her Majesty Queen Camilla late Monday afternoon.
The relationship between the Métis Nation and the Crown is unique and enduring, deeply woven into the history of Canada. When meeting with His Majesty Monday late afternoon, President Pruden raised the importance of partnership in upholding the honour of the Crown and fulfilling the solemn promises made by the Crown to the Métis Nation; advancing Métis-led climate action, including ongoing collaboration through the Wildfire-Resilient Landscapes Network; revitalizing Métis languages; and rematriating Métis artifacts and artworks — all critical for advancing reconciliation.
President Pruden and His Majesty discussed opportunities for further engagement and President Pruden extended a formal invitation to Their Majesties to visit the Métis Homeland to experience the rich culture, history, and traditions of the Métis Nation.
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But the administration is also employing a broad definition of what it believes constitutes terrorism. FBI and Justice Department officials see the fight against transnational gangs as part of their counterterrorism mandate, taking advantage of the Trump administration's designation of the violent street gangs MS-13 and Tren de Aragua as foreign terrorist organizations to bring terrorism-related charges against defendants, including a Venezuelan man suspected of being a high-ranking TdA member and a Utah father-son suspected of providing material support to a Mexican cartel — a charge typically used for cases involving groups like the Islamic State and al-Qaida. A former Justice Department terrorism prosecutor, Patel has called the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Forces — interagency units in the bureau's 55 field offices — as 'shining examples' of its mission. Those task forces spent years pursuing suspects in the Capitol riot but have now been enlisted to track down cartel members, he has said. After an Egyptian man whose work authorization in the U.S. had expired was arrested on charges of using a homemade flamethrower and Molotov cocktails to attack a group drawing attention to Israeli hostages in Gaza, administration officials held up the case as proof of their philosophy that immigration enforcement is tantamount to protecting national security. The FBI says its domestic terrorism investigations continue uninterrupted, though Patel at times has discussed the threat in different terms than Wray, who led the bureau as it investigated the Capitol riot and who cited it as evidence of the dangers of homegrown extremists. At hearings last month, Patel pointed to a string of arsons and vandalism acts at Tesla dealerships as domestic terrorism acts that commanded the FBI's resources and attention. 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