March 19 Anti-Muslim Rallies: Some Victories, Some Hard Lessons

By this point ARC readers know that any time we mention Kevin "The Chairman" Goudreau on the blog, it is probably because he did something profoundly stupid or embarrassing but isn't self aware enough to realize that this is the case:

Yep, the Goudreau held a rally in Peterborough while wearing an ill-fitted suit because he now wants to project gravitas.

Though really, to refer to what the Goudreau held as a rally is sort of like polishing a turd and calling it a diamond:

Still, despite holding his "rally" (word is they were there for less than 5 minutes) in what looks to my uneducated eye as a relatively empty street with few people to witness it, and what few people who did witness the event simply mocked him and his merry band of short bus passengers, the Goudreau appears to see it as a massive success and his first step towards his inevitable rise as der Kanadisch Führer:

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At least one person however, seemed to imply that the Goudreau was sort of gilding the lily:

That's right folks. There were more anti-Muslim rallies in select Canadian towns and cities this past week.

Kevin's explanation for the pathetic nature of his rally is flimsy at best, but it is telling in that he really believes (and is likely correct) that some of the kind of people who would attend a "White Pride" march would also be attracted to an anti-Muslim protest. It's sort of a Venn Diagram, but of hatred. For example, Goudreau has some prominent anti-Muslim activists amongst his own friends:

Brad Salzberg, the leader of the Cultural Action Party of Canada, isn't just anti-Muslim but is also anti-immigrant in general. He held a very small anti-Muslim protest in Vancouver this past Sunday. And Sara Smith is better known as Sandra Solomon, an especially vocal and virulent anti-Muslim protester associates with Eric Brazeau and Ron Banerjee; she was a key speaker at the anti-Muslim event that took place Sunday in Toronto.

When analyzing the anti-Muslim protests that took place this past Sunday, I think it is important to look not only at the victories scored by those who opposed the xenophobes and Islamophobes, but it is equally important to recognize that there were some setbacks.

Jody Issel, Soldiers of Odin Moose Jaw President, Isn't Even Trying Anymore

You know, if there's one positive thing about Trump's election is that the racists we've been covering here for years have become refreshingly honest about their views. Take this guy for example:

Now this is admittedly an older photo of Jody Issel, but it does sort of capture a particular moment in time, specifically the time he tried to start up an unauthorized chapter of the Aryan Nations' in Saskatchewan. That effort didn't pan out so well, so he threw in his lot with Kyle McKee and the Aryan Guard in Calgary for a while, attending at least one of their "White Pride Day" marches.

A few months after we reported Issel's efforts to start an Aryan Nations' chapter, he contacted us to first beg, then threaten us, to remove his information. We didn't and we still haven't, but at that time he seems to have recognized that being associated with the racist movement wasn't good for his career prospects.

Over the years we kept an eye on him. He was careful, locking down his Facebook from our prying eyes, but there were still a number of times he forgot himself:

Then when the Soldiers of Odin movement found it's way across the Atlantic, Issel found himself in an interesting position in that he lived in Moose Jaw, the SoO were looking for a Moose Jaw city president, and the SoO doesn't actually seem to vet their members or individuals aspiring to positions of leadership. Thus:

Recently, Issel and his merry band of SoO members (four by all accounts) decided to take a stroll about Moose Jaw (at least long enough to snap some photos) to protect the fine folks of that particular prairie community:

The problem here is who will protect the fine folks of Moose Jaw from the people who claim to want to protect them?

Bill Daniels, SOO Provincial President in BC

It's funny, because although he claimed that he wasn't hiding, at the time Issel posted these messages on his other profile, it was locked up tighter than gnat's chuff.

But things have changed on both of his profiles, although this one is the more interesting of the two right now:

So why does Issel feel more comfortable openly expressing his racism?

Take a wild guess:

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:

June 2016 Bits and Bites: Paul Fromm, Robert Reitmeier, Tyler Sturrup, Canadians United 4 Canada, and Assault on Muslim Woman

A few things have occurred over the past few days that we figure warrant some discussion, though not necessarily stand alone posts.

First on the agenda is another example of Paulie having a bad day, which is generally a good day for most people. He was scheduled to give a speech in Victoria, however the manager contacted him to let Paulie know he was't welcome. Paulie accepted the news with the quiet dignity he is well known for:

Or he whined and claimed his free speech rights have been curtailed while presenting the event as an epic struggle for freedom of expression. I mean, either way, right?

Neo-Nazi Members/Supporters of the Soldiers of Odin

Back in March we ran an article linking Canadians United 4 Canada to the Soldiers of Odin, a movement that started in Finland but which has spread to a number of other countries including Canada.

Among those Finnish members are this guy:

Mr. Johansson's friend list might be of interest to readers on this side of the Atlantic:

Our original article on the SoO focused specifically on the Quebec wing and noted the Quebec group consisted of a number of overt neo-Nazis. Not surprisingly SoO members and supporters denied being members of an overt hate group, going so far as to print leaflets promoting their non-bigoted bona fides:

Later, a journalist writing for VICE picked up on the story (while also kindly linking to our article on the SoO) resulting in some concern from at least one provincial SoO wing:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Btw, if Blake Cunliffe is concerned about how SoO might be portrayed in the media, he might decide to desist advocating political assassinations:

While we are no longer privy to the Soldiers of Odin's BC wing as they appear to have removed our dummy Facebook profile, we did notice that no one really ultimately challenged the underlying claims made in the article. Had they done so though, they might have had to explain this fella:

Article in Calgary Sun Regarding Murder of Mark Mariani

The article published on Saturday lays out much of the evidence (in addition to the released audio transcript that was released a two years ago) used to ultimately convict Tyler Sturrup and Robert Reitmeier, founding members of Western European Bloodlines (WEB) which was, if one can believe it, a more violent offshoot of the Aryan Guard.

We found this line to sufficiently describe the "bravery" of the Master Race once one model example realized he had been caught:

Reitmeier’s last act as a free man is to throw up in front of two cops and a camera....

Looks good on you.

Southern Ontario Skins: A Cast of Stooges Part XI

Our readers have likely noticed that our output has been rather limited of late. In part that's due to not having as much to cover here as we rework some of our intel gathering strategies.

The other reason is we just haven't felt like writing all that much. And a lot of what has been published has been really labored (to those who have made mention that we have been phoning it in, it's not as if you're telling us something we weren't already well aware of ourselves).

Hey, everyone goes through lulls. 

Regardless of our current state of ennui, we thought that it would be appropriate before 2014 ends to include one more article in our long running series on a very special group of boneheads.

More on Dan Hall another time, but he does bring up a pertinent question. What IS up with Brodie Walsh?

Dean Clifford and Bill Noble: Emails

This day last November freeman-on-the-land guru, former active Stormfront member, and general nutter Dean Clifford was taken into custody during a seminar he was conducting in Ontario. Since that day, Clifford has been claiming that his release would be imminent as would be his take-down of the political and economic system in this nation. And despite his continued incarceration, which now includes charges that he made threats to directed at the police and court officials while in custody (we have at least one of those recordings saves), Clifford continues in his delusional belief that he has them all right where he wants them and that there will be hell to pay when he gets out. His supporters remain credulous in spite of all available evidence.

Today those supporters who run the website provided the world with a gift; 9+ hours of Dean Clifford's pseudo-legalistic mumbo jumbo. We here at ARC humbly would suggest being subjected to more than 9 hours of Dean Clifford would be far worse than the torture he claims that he has undergone while a guest of Her Majesty.

That noted, we thought we too might provide a gift to mark this auspicious occasion.

A couple of years back, some one or some group hacked a number of racist websites and email addresses. It just so happens that three of those email addresses belonged to Bill Noble, someone our readers are very familiar with. And Noble kept up a fairly extensive correspondence with Clifford from 2007 into at least 2011. Some of those correspondences were related to Noble's own case in which he was ultimately found guilty and sentenced to a term of four months followed by three years probation (which he immediately violated soon after his release with no apparent consequence):

Oh, perhaps we should have mentioned that Bill Noble once (and maybe still does) uses Adolf Hitler as means of identifying himself.

The name that Clifford signed as, "Sovereign" is significant in that it is what he used as his online moniker on Stormfront. In some of the emails that will follow Clifford will refer to posts he made on Stormfront. Since some of his acolytes refused to believe that Clifford (who threw quite a temper tantrum when we suggested we would be writing an article about him) was the racist we proved him to be, maybe this provides sufficient proof, however there will be more so stay tuned.

Anyways, Clifford included an attachment with his email, the content of which follows:

Tyler Sturrup Appealing Murder Conviction

Late last year Robert Reitmeier was convicted of murder Mark Mariani. A year previously Tyler Sturrup pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life in prison for his participation in the murder with no possibility for parole for 10 years.

Evidently, Sturrup wants a do-over:

Calgary Neo-Nazi appeals murder conviction

By Kevin Martin ,Calgary Sun

First posted: Tuesday, March 11, 2014 04:15 PM MDT | Updated: Wednesday, March 12, 2014 08:16 AM MDT 

More than a year after pleading guilty to the murder of Calgarian Mark Mariani, white supremacist Tyler Sturrup has had a change of heart and appealed his conviction.

Citing several reasons, including the psychological state he was in at the time, Sturrup has asked the Alberta Court of Appeal to overturn his conviction for second-degree murder.

And in his handwritten notice of appeal, Sturrup cites problems with his lawyer as the main reason he wants to take his case to trial.

Murderer Robert Reitmeier Appealing Conviction

Not necessarily surprising, mind you.

No doubt this will be difficult for the Mariani family, but unless something truly unexpected occurs, we suspect that the appeal will be rejected. 

Neo-Nazi murderer, Robert Reitmeier, files appeal

Reitmeier was found guilty in November of 2nd-degree murder in 2010 death of Mark Mariani

By Meghan Grant, CBC News Posted: Jan 04, 2014 5:58 PM MT Last Updated: Jan 05, 2014 10:53 AM MT

Neo-Nazi murderer, Robert Reitmeier, is appealing his conviction and sentence for the 2010 random killing of Mark Mariani.

After being found guilty by a jury in November 2013, Reitmeier was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 13 years. For Mariani's family, news of the appeal isn't sitting well.

Reitmeier: Life in Prison

Before his friends and family begin caterwauling about the great injustice of imprisoning Robert Reitmeier for murder, remember this.

Reitmeier is eligible for parole in 13 years. As such there is a possibility he could be released before he turns 40.

On the other hand, in 13 years Mark Mariani will still be dead. There's no second chance for him.

Robert Reitmeier gets life in beating death of Calgary man

No chance of parole for 13 years for neo-Nazi

CBC News Posted: Dec 10, 2013 2:19 PM MT
Last Updated: Dec 10, 2013 2:19 PM MT

Self-proclaimed white supremacist Robert Reitmeier has been sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 13 years in the 2010 beating death of a Calgary man.

Robert Reitmeier Found Guilty

Rob Reitmeier guilty of 2nd-degree murder, says jury

 

Self-proclaimed white supremacist charged after 2010 beating death of Mark Mariani

CBC News Posted: Nov 20, 2013 9:53 PM MT Last Updated: Nov 20, 2013 10:09 PM MT

Self-proclaimed white supremacist Rob Reitmeier has been found guilty of second-degree murder by a jury in the 2010 beating death of Calgary man Mark Mariani.

After two days of deliberating, a jury of 11 returned the verdict at 9:51 p.m. MT Wednesday.

They are now tasked with recommending parole eligibility for Reitmeier.

Reitmeier Murder Trial Goes To Jury

Nothing much to add. Here's the link to the story.

Tyler Sturrup: “If I have a fucking question about her I’ll make her be dead."

More disturbing testimony today at the murder trial of Robert Reitmeier. Yesterday and today the jury heard recorded conversations between Reitmeier and Tyler Sturrup which appears to refer to the murder. Here are a few excerpts:

Tyler Sturrup and Robert Reitmeier

“I mean you know how much anxiety rips my ... heart out every ... day,” Reitmeier tells his friend in an April 20, 2011, call. “Like I say, they’ve got nothing.

“Talk about being in the wrong place, wrong time, whatever.”

Sturrup reassures Reitmeier that if police had something on them, they would have been brought in for questioning. “They’ve got nothing. I’m not worried,” he adds.

In a call the following day, Reitmeier begins to get uptight again, telling Sturrup that at the beginning of the conversation he was told there was nothing to worry about and now he is saying otherwise.

Reitmeier: Photo taken late (December) 2012

Sturrup said the media reports were starting to get him concerned.

“When I heard the news, I was, ugh, I’m dying a little bit inside,” Sturrup tells Reitmeier. 

“Whatever it is, I mean, they’re not gonna get me in handcuffs for that ... I’ll make them kill me ... I’ll take a couple of cops with me.”