A Deep Dive into WLM Toronto Member Andrew Benson

This past July I was doxxed.

Well, not really.

You see I had actually been doxxed in January 2020, but WLM Toronto appeared to have believed they got a "W" on this.

You have probably seen WLM flyers posted in a number of cities in Canada and the United States at this point. The movement wants people to believe they are a significant group but the reality, with a few exceptions, is that most cells are composed of no more than half a dozen to a dozen members who bravely hide their faces because, you know, they are really proud of what they do.

WLM Toronto is perhaps one of the more pathetic cells in North America as illustrated what they believe to be successful events:

This is just sad!

Iron March Leak: Forum Moderator MOONLORD Was Former Calgary Blood & Honour Member, Active Canadian Forces, Supported Atomwaffen, and Apparently Selling Weapons to French Far-Right

NOTE: If the screen shots in this article are too small to read, please right click and open in a new tab. You can then size the image appropriately. I will also be pulling data and screen shots from three distinct databases which will account for the stylistic differences of the images posted.

There was a massive leak of data last month from the now defunct Iron March forums where the violent Atomwaffen Division got it's start:

• Atomwaffen-Linked Extremist in Las Vegas Arrested: Connection to Barrie, ON Man
• Inside the Private Messages of Neo-Nazi Group Atomwaffen Division
• Atomwaffen Division’s Washington State Cell Leader Stripped of Arsenal in U.S., Banned from Canada

Among the members are a number of Canadians, some of whom have been featured on ARC in the past. I'll be getting to these and the others I, YVCE, and BloodRayne have dug up over the course of the next weeks and months (there is a hell of a lot to dig through) but one new figure has caught my attention as especially significant.

Before I get to him though, I need provide some context and briefly discuss a figure whom we are already familiar with:

Bernie Miller with Eric Marshall who was implicated in an assault, suspected
of being instigated by Blood & Honour leader Kyle McKee, of a rival in Ontario

Bernie Miller was the person who led the Edmonton chapter of Blood & Honour when it was active in the city. At the time the overall organization was led by Calgary-based Kyle McKee who founded the Aryan Guard in 2006 before "patching over" to Blood & Honour a few years later. Miller was an active member prior to and during the patching over to a hate group which is has now been designated as a terrorist group by the Canadian government:

So when I saw his name associated with the leaked Iron March files, I wasn't at all surprised:

I'm censoring the email and ip information to avoid any chance of being sanctioned by
Blogger, though if I determine that it is safe to do so I'll release that information as well.

Miller alludes his time with B&H in his introduction:

Miller, who has since moved from Alberta to British Columbia, wasn't especially active on the Iron March forums, posting sporadically between June 6, 2016 and March 9, 2017. However while his public messages were fairly boilerplate for your basic neo-Nazi bonehead, the private messages were most enlightening.

Turns out Miller wasn't the only former Alberta B&H member participating:

What do we know about MOONLORD?

MOONLORD or Николајевићreferences Iron March member Brandon Cameron who is the focus of
this Vice article exposing him as “Alba Nuadh” and a former Canadian Forces member and reservist.

Well on the Internet Database version of the Iron March forums, he went by the name "Николајевић" which is Nikolajević using the Latin alphabet and was mentioned in a VICE article written by Ben Makuch and Mack Lamoureux:

In a 2015 post one user with the name “Nikolajević” (written in Serbian cyrillic), who brags about carrying knives to stab “commies” and advises others to track leftist protesters to their homes, claims to be a member of the Canadian military. 

“Recently, I joined the military here,” he says.
....
Months later, in 2016, Nikolajević goes onto encourage other Canadian members of the site to join the reserves, “its fun, volunteer-only for deployments and they give you a solid 8K to get yourself educated.”

There is a discrepancy with the names which is due to the fact that when he became a moderator his handle was changed from Николајевић to MOONLORD:

The assault charges referenced in this exchange stem from the last "White Pride
Day" event organized by Blood & Honour. It was moved  to Edmonton due to being
massively outnumbered in Calgary. The move to Edmonton didn't help at all.

As one of the forum's moderators MOONLORD was referred to as Niko by other moderators. MOONLORD also sent a PM stating that his Wire handle was nik1991 suggesting be might have been born in that year. He was also at one time a member of the Calgary chapter of Blood & Honour. In fact MOONLORD was a little more detailed about his time with the Calgary chapter of Blood & Honour when he introduced himself. Here for example we see that for a time MOONLORD was an integral part of the hate group as he claims to be the primary developer of the Blood & Honour Canada website:

MOONLORD was significantly more active on the forums. Here he gives advice to this British Columbia high school student who wants to, "stop leftists at [his] school":

His suggestion?

But back to the private messages where we learn more about MOONLORD. Here MOONLORD interacts with Bernie "Wehrwolf88" Miller reminiscing about their time with the Alberta Blood & Honour. It is also here that we learn that MOONLORD is (or at least was as of November 2017 as we'll see) an active member of the Canadian Armed Forces:

In later private messages with another user, he states that he left B&H in part because it had become less violent:

But in this case a lengthy discussion of MOONLORD's B&H membership is actually burying the lede so let's get back to his military experience.

MOONLORD discusses the finer points of his enlistment in the Canadian Forces with an American who is apparently also interested in joining his nation's military -- in his case the navy perhaps -- while also engaging in some online commerce:

It is now that it might be best to just get to the point:

The preceding screenshots are the public forum posts of a French fascist using the name FrenchSoldier. In a private exchange between himself and the French extremist, MOONLORD appears to be in the process of selling illegal weapons to a man who doesn't care about the legality of the exchange: "if I can have such materials, the future of France will be changed":

The two continue to conduct business via Iron March's private messenger:

In May 2017 however the process hit a bit of a snag:

In May 2017, Devon Arthurs is alleged to have murdered two of his room mates; another room mate Brandon Russell would later be convicted of possessing bomb making materials and sentenced to five years in prison. All of those involved were members of Atomwaffen Division. In fact Russell was the primary recruiter for the violent hate group and posted on Iron March as "Odin". As "Odin" Russell will be featured in efforts to recruit Canadian users. After the events of March 2017 MOONLORD had to admonish an unknown user who mentioned Odin in a thread and was taking his own precautions due to his association with the group:

In the meantime the arms sale discussion continues including an acknowledgement that if caught, he could end up in prison:

This is where the conversation ends. I don't know if the arms transaction discussion continued in a more secure location online (Wire perhaps?) or if the transfer of the weapons took place. However it is clear that this was not a case of Internet warriors fantasizing about acquiring weapons to start off a race war. Here we have a member of the Canadian Armed Forces facilitating the illegal sale of weaponry to someone he knew was likely to use them in a manner that would result in injuries and deaths. We also know based on some of MOONLORD's other PMs that this was a feature and not a bug:

With this in mind then it might also be a concern that MOONLORD spent a great deal of time online trying to organize what is euphemistically referred to as a private military company but, when stripped to the core is a paramilitary group of mercenaries. In fact MOONLORD is quite explicit that the pmc he is envisioning will be fascist in nature:

There's also an effort to recruit members of the neo-Nazi Azov Battalion:

• Inside the Extremist Group That Dreams of Ruling Ukraine

Ultimately it appears that he wasn't able to get the project off the ground though he remained open to the possibility of trying again at another date. He also mentions another project producing military patches and other gear which we would be very interested in learning more about:

We are still in the process of gathering information however there is likely enough identifying biographical material that would enable the Department of National Defence to ferret out MOONLORD.

Far-Right Reactionaries Are Behind the WEXIT Campaign

With the election mercifully behind us and many on the far-right disappointed with the outcome, much is being reported on the so-called "Wexit" from Canada (why yes, it IS derivative.)

While this separatist movement has been around a long time, Prairie Freedom Movement (PFM), a Wexit precursor, has been around since December, 2016 (and has a 27,000 membership.) The Wexit online presence has also been around for a while, however their staggering growth since Election Night is most certainly a reaction to the re-election of Trudeau.

A few days ago, the Wexit Facebook group had 96,000 members. At the time of this article, it currently has a whopping 243,000 members, not counting provincial groups.

It's hard to say whether all of the people in the group are real or computer generated, or whether they are all located in the western Canadian provinces, but their numbers exceed that of the main Yellow Vests Canada group, which has stalled at around 103,000 by a substantial margin.

Before we drill down into the rhetoric found in the Wexit ecosystem, we need to go back a ways and talk about Peter Downing, the central figure of both PFM and Wexit.

Downing has an interesting history, having ran for the Christian Heritage Party in the 2015 election for the Edmonton-Mill Woods riding.

For anyone unfamiliar with the CHP, click here for an overview of their platform. It's...problematic. 

Downing is also a disgraced RCMP officer. According to a now-deleted 2012 article by Ryan Tumilty in the St. Albert Gazette (which has also been removed from archive) he was fired for uttering threats. While the article is no longer available (weird!) we did find a copy on another website. The article highlights Downing's lack of consistent credibility, and issues raised by the Crown. 

The concerns about Downing appear to date back years. Before criminal charges were laid against him in July 2010, the Crown prosecutor’s office was already raising questions about Downing’s reliability as a witness. 

A November 2009 memo concluded he was an unreliable witness and if his credibility was a central issue, prosecutors should withdraw the charges. Downing provided the memo to the Gazette, because he believes it was written as part of an effort to remove him from the RCMP after he complained about superior officers. In the memo Crown prosecutor Jeff Morrison assessed Downing as a witness, looking specifically at a Supreme Court case called R. v. McNeil. The case involved an officer in Ontario who testified in a drug case while facing drug-related criminal charges and internal discipline hearings himself. 

The court’s decision sets out when prosecutors have to disclose a police officer’s previous misconduct or criminal convictions. After speaking with other prosecutors and reviewing Downing’s files, Morrison concluded Downing was a problem. “The general consensus amongst prosecutors who have dealt with Downing is one of incompetent zeal,” says the memo. “His motives are not dispassionate; he has a personal agenda inappropriate of an RCMP member, which causes him to overreach.” 

Morrison concluded Downing could be reliable, but not consistently. “This issue is not that he can’t be fair, trustworthy and dispassionate; merely that he is not with sufficient frequency.” At the end of the document Morrison comes to one conclusion. “It would in general be imprudent for the Crown to run Downing matters where Downing’s credibility is a central issue and where there is no independent corroboration, whether or not the defence is attuned to the issues highlighted by the McNeil disclosure.”

On the matter of Downing's suspension: 

The officer, Const. Peter Downing, worked in both St. Albert and Morinville and remains on administrative leave after a lengthy suspension related to criminal charges of uttering threats. Downing was convicted of those charges last summer and last month lost an appeal.

Downing's former wife alleges he threatened to throw her out a window:  

Downing was first suspended in July 2010, shortly after he was charged with uttering threats. At the trial last summer, Downing’s ex-wife testified he threatened to throw her out the window during a heated argument. But Downing’s lawyer focused on timing, noting the incident was reported months later when police were called for another argument.

Since his days with the RCMP, he's turned to far-right agitprop, pushing conspiracy theories and helming PFM and other ventures such as Alberta Verified, which was boosted heavily by Pat King, and Alberta Fights Back, all connected to PFM.

PFM has been covered by us extensively on Twitter in a 23 tweet thread highlighting the rhetoric found on their Facebook page, as well as their inflammatory billboard campaign:

You’ve probably noticed shares from Prairie Freedom Movement, or their offshoots/websites. They’ve installed pro-separatist billboards in AB, SK, and MB.

Their messaging includes anti-globalist, anti-UN, & anti-Islam sentiments. #cdnpoli #abpoli #mbpoli #skpoli

THREAD. /1

— Yellow Vests Canada Hex-posed ☠️ (@VestsCanada) April 6, 2019

In a surprise to absolutely no one, PFM's rhetoric largely mirrored that of Yellow Vests Canada. In fact, Downing is associated with numerous high profile Yellow Vests, including anti-semite, holocaust denier and white nationalist Pat King, who boosted Downing's other project, Alberta Verified, heavily. Yes. Another project.

*** Please share widely ***

Right-wing conspiracy theorists and grifters Pat King and Peter Downing are planning events in Alberta on what they are calling Alberta Day.

This is Labour Day celebration with a patriotic grifter spin to promote Alberta Verified. pic.twitter.com/qrV9OFPiaB

— EdmontonAgainstFascism (@EdmontonAgainst) August 26, 2019

King dives head first into the Great Replacement/white genocide myth. It's all a conspiracy, see. Because whites have "the strongest bloodlines."

He calls it the "anglo-saxon replacement" so antifa can't get mad at him.

Who is behind it? Muslims and the UN. /2 pic.twitter.com/mLhpCpjQiV

— Yellow Vests Canada Hex-posed ☠️ (@VestsCanada) August 10, 2019

1. Pat King is being antisemitic again.

He shared a video, titled “Sicut Judaeis Non” or “Not As The Jews” (if my translation is correct.)
Sicut Judaeis was a papal bull w direction on the church’s treatment of Jews after the First Crusade. In short, it was a protection order. pic.twitter.com/N9b5GEcWSm

— Yellow Vests Canada Hex-posed ☠️ (@VestsCanada) July 24, 2019

King admitting the truck with the black sun decal is his. Downing also spoke at the same rally this truck was at. 

Now that we're all caught up on who Downing is, let's take a look at the Wexit Facebook page.

The Wexit Facebook page admin/mod team

We have problematic activity for most of these people so we'll be going through them one by one.

Carolyn Sharpe: Friends with multiple far-right hate group members, likes include Yellow Vests, National Citizens Alliance, PPC, Free Bird Media.

Garry Grumpelt: Posts picture of confederate flag, likes include Sandra Solomon, National Citizens Alliance, Ronny Cameron, Canadian Action Party.

Jake Wall: Member of main yellow vest group, shares material from far-right sources such as Winnipeg Alternative Media, and former PPC candidate/Islamophobe Mark Friesen.

Kelly Elizabeth: Shares material from far-right and Islamophobic sources like Rebel Media, Mark Friesen, Ed Jamnisek, Amazing Polly.

Mary Bourne: Likes include multiple hate groups; Yellow Vests Canada, Canadian Nationalist Party, Cultural Action Party, Three Percenters, WCAI.

 Bernadette Boudreault: Member of main Yellow Vests Canada Group.

 Barb Meyers Tremblay: PPC

Carmen Lasante: Likes PPC, What's Up Canada(Wayne Peters), Yellow Vests Canada member, posts Islamophobic material.

The provincial pages and other far-right pages crosspost each other heavily:

It doesn't take too much searching to find Islamophobic material within the Wexit Facebook group, and with admins like this that shouldn't be too shocking.

Downing, however, understands the need for restraint. Kind of.

He did take to his website to complain about "free speech" just prior to the election though: 

And while media reports have surfaced that around 28% of accounts boosting #Wexit on Twitter are bots, the activity isn't limited just to Twitter and Facebook. Overtly fascist accounts are also sharing #Wexit on Gab: 

So what kind of people are being drawn to Wexit? ARC recently discovered some persons of interest delving into their particular cesspool.

Christopher Hayes, who drove in the United We Roll Convoy with the Yellow Vests, and is associated with multiple hate groups like WCAI, seems pretty keen on the idea. Hayes was previously convicted of uttering threats against Justin Trudeau.

In addition to Hayes, we have William Miettinen, the "shirtless Nazi", an associate of Aryan Guard:

Even American fascist accounts are weighing in, supportive of Wexit. Why? Because separation due in part to a dislike of immigration is one step closer to an ethnostate. 

Downing and Wexit peddle dangerous rhetoric running the gamut of a "mass migration" scare, "globalism," claim that the government "normalizes pedophilia," even pushing the Pizzagate conspiracy theory. Billboards they've installed around Alberta include all that and more. 

The Star reported:

“These folks are not persuaded by knowledge, facts, evidence, law.” But the messages cross a line from commentary to misinformation, and an Edmonton lawyer said that could land Downing in trouble. 

The notion of a “firearms ban” comes from a rumour spread by independent MP Tony Clement, who said in May that Trudeau was planning to announce a ban on all legal firearms during a women’s conference. However Trudeau never announced a ban. 

The “normalizing pedophilia” point stems partly from a Pierre Elliot Trudeau Foundation document that contains a triangular logo, vaguely resembling one that the FBI has identified as being used by pedophiles to secretly discuss their sexual proclivities. Triangular logos are used by many companies and organizations, but Downing draws the pedophilia link based on a belief in the debunked “Pizzagate” conspiracy that influenced a 2016 shooting at a Washington, D.C., pizzeria. The conspiracy falsely suggests a number of high-ranking politicians are involved in child sex-trafficking rings.

Photo from The Star. Billboard rhetoric includes "normalizing pedophilia, mass migration, firearms ban, globalism," and others.

Where Wexit will go remains to be seen, but it's imperative that media cover it, and Downing responsibly. There's already been issues in the media with journalists doing superficial coverage or giving soft interviews to Downing about him and his project by CBC and the Ottawa Citizen. 
The country deserves to know who is behind this push, and what ideology is driving it. They may or may not really believe Trudeau is pushing them to "civil war," but we know one thing: their rhetoric is dangerous, and could lead to violence.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this post stated Downing was fired from the RCMP for uttering threats, drinking on the job, and sexual harassment. He was fired for uttering threats.

UPDATE: Since publishing, we've learned that antisemite and white nationalist Pat King sits on the board of directors for Wexit. Past material from King includes propagating the Great Replacement myth and holocaust denial.

THREAD

White nationalist, holocaust denier, proponent of the Great Replacement myth, and antisemite Pat King is apparently on the board of directors for Wexit. /1 pic.twitter.com/TdkcJF4E62

— Yellow Vests Canada Hex-posed ☠️ (@VestsCanada) October 25, 2019

UPDATE #2: A former moderator of the Canadian Nationalist Party forum, JonOttawa, has expressed support for Wexit on Reddit (which appears to be his new home.)