Andrew Benson Reappears With Interesting Friends

It seems that in addition to the Goudreau, who recently came to our attention after a lengthy absence, another character whom we had once been keeping close tabs on but whom we lost track of has reappeared on our radar:

Andrew Benson has been somewhat of a political chameleon over the years. He started out as a self-proclaimed Trotskyist....

.... followed by a lengthy stint as a bonehead:

The last time we heard from Benson, he had begun to style himself as a free market libertarian acolyte of Ayn Rand and Ron Paul, though his association with Richard Spencer's National Policy Institute certainly strongly suggested he retained his antisemitic and racist views:

“I am not a fan of political correctness,” said Andrew Benson, 28, who had traveled from Canada to attend. Wearing a black suit vest, red collared shirt and black cargo pants, he looked more like he’d come to his conclusions as part of a teenage rebellion. “I have always had an odd attraction to things that are taboo.”

No kidding?

It seems that Benson is still enamored with this particular brand of nationalism and like other members of the so-called "alt-right" (who are, at the core, neo-Nazis) is a supporter of Donald Trump:

Benson with Milo Yiannopoulos. Photo first posted on Benson's page July 2016.

We found Benson again quite by accident, but we immediately recognized him despite his Russified name as it now appears on Facebook:

Looking at some of his other posts, it's clear his views haven't changed that much since his association with violent neo-Nazis....

Attending an American Freedom Party event.

.... though we can't help notice some odd contradictions:

Well, perhaps not so odd considering Ezra Levant and "The Rebel" have been boosters of Trump for some time, as evidenced by Faith Goldy's presence at an anti-Trump rally in Toronto last month that Benson also appears to have attended:

But in addition to his newfound besties Milo Yiannopoulos and Faith Goldy, Benson has another friend who on the surface is of no real significance, but who has played a small roll in a recent event in Alberta provincial politics:

Aside from his friendship with a "white nationalist," Cameron Wilson looks pretty unassuming. One thing that's clear is that he is a social-conservative opposed to same sex marriage and abortion rights:

He also appears to be at least a bit of a Trump supporter....

.... a supporter of Brad Trost for Conservative Party of Canada leader....

.... and, more significantly perhaps, a supporter of Jason Kenney's bid to become the leader of the Alberta PCs in his effort to "unite the right":

It is this part that we find interesting.

Back in early November, Jason Kenney arrived at the Progressive Conservative's Red Deer policy convention along with the former prime minister Stephen Harper and a couple of bus loads of youth delegates. Among those youth delegates were Cameron Wilson:

During the convention, the youth delegates are alleged to have harassed the only two women in the PC leadership race, Sandra Jansen and Donna Kennedy-Glans. Feeling that she had no place in a party that she claimed was being taken over by extremists, Ms. Jansen crossed the floor to join the governing NDP, resulting in further harassment including death threats.

Andrew Benson's friend Cameron Wilson and other youth delegates bragged about the harassment that forced Ms. Jansen and Ms. Kennedy-Glans from the leadership race:

The same screen shot found on another youth delegates profile seems to suggest that Ms. Jansen is right about the attempt to hijack the Progressive Conservative Party:

And if one needs more clarity regarding the strategies Mr. Wilson and of this particular group....

Quite the web, eh?