A Quebec City soldier charged with terrorism last year planned to occupy cottages by force with a group of armed associates in anticipation of society’s collapse, according to court records.

Police have alleged that Master Corporal Marc-Aurèle Chabot, a member of the Canadian Armed Forces, was the leading figure in a group of soldiers and ex-military men who harboured extremist views and conducted military drills in central Quebec and eastern Ontario.

After a court-ordered publication ban was lifted on Friday, it can be reported that MCpl. Chabot allegedly planned to seize cottages, that he inquired about bomb-handling techniques, and that his group had scouted industrial buildings and a water-filtration plant.

After arresting MCpl. Chabot and three others in July, the RCMP said that the men wanted to create a militia and take over a piece of land. But the scale of the alleged plot, the existence of a police informant and other additional details can now be reported for the first time after a publication ban was lifted Friday.