Benjamin Dichter

Benjamin Joseph Dichter (born 1975 or 1976) was a leader in the 2022 Canadian convoy protest. He is a truck driver, author, and podcaster and a former gemologist, former print shop operator from Toronto, Canada. He is the founder of the LGBTQ conservative group LGBTory.

Benjamin Dichter
Born
Benjamin Joseph Dichter

1975 or 1976
NationalityCanadian
Occupation(s)Podcaster, author, gemologist, truck driver
OrganizationLGBTory
Known forCanadian convoy protest leadership

Dichter was the candidate for Toronto Centre-Rosedale in the 2014 Toronto municipal election, and the 2015 Conservative candidate for Toronto-Danforth. He lost in both elections. He has been noted for criticisms of partisan divisiveness, and of political tolerance toward extremism.

Early life and education

Dichter was adopted by a Jewish family and attended the Associated Hebrew Schools of Toronto and the York Mills Collegiate Institute.[1]

Career

Dichter is a truck driver[2] who has worked as a gemologist, and as a print shop operator in Toronto.[1] He patented an invention for motorcycles, registered in 2003.[3]

Dichter has produced several podcasts, covering topics of philosophy, law, crime, terrorism, and the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.[4] Some podcasts include The Quiggin Report (anti-terrorism, Islamic extremism),[1] the Open College podcast (philosophy, history, politics),[5] and Not On Record (crime, legal research, investigations). He is the founder of Possibly Correct Media, that publishes a podcast by the same name.[6][4]

Politics
LGBTory logo

In 2014,[7][8] Dichter ran for Toronto city council for Toronto Centre-Rosedale, winning approximately 1,500 out of 31,000 votes, (just under five per cent).[9][7] His platform focused on budgets, infrastructure, transit, a desire to avoid partisanship politics,[9] and a specific ambition to create affordable low-rise housing.[8][10] Kristyn Wong-Tam won the riding.[7]

After the original candidate Tim Dutaud was dropped by the federal Conservative party of Canada,[11][12] Dichter ran as the candidate for the Toronto-Danforth riding in 2015.[13][14] Dichter was the only candidate to not turn up for a climate change debate[15] and likewise missed the debate on electoral reform.[16] He won 5,478 votes, ranking third, behind winner Liberal Julie Dabrusin and runner up New Democratic Parity incumbent Craig Scott.[17]

Dichter is the founder of LGBTory, the Rainbow Conservatives of Canada.[14][18]

In 2016–2017, Dichter raised criticism against political tolerance to risk, from Islamic extremists.[19][20] On 13 June 2016, Dichter and members of LGBTory attended a vigil in Toronto for the victims of the Orlando nightclub shooting; later criticizing some political and activist attendees, for hijacking the event.[20] In 2019, at a People's Party of Canada's first national convention, Dichter did the opening keynote speech[21] where he spoke about "political Islam" and how it has "infiltrated" the Liberal party and the Conservative party of Canada.[22][23][24] Maxime Bernier thanked Dichter for raising questions about how Canada dealt with Islamic extremism.[25]

Canada convoy protest
Ottawa convoy protest, 5 February 2022

On 14 January 2022, Dichter co-organized the GoFundMe crowd-funding for the Canada convoy protest.[26] A successful court injunction from local residents and businesses forced the funds to be frozen,[27] prompting Dichter to accuse GoFundMe of theft.[28] In February 2022, Dichter agreed to move the funds into an escrow account.[29]

Dichter was a spokespeople for the Canada convoy protest.[30] When asked, he expressed irreverence at the presence of confederate flags at the event.[13]

In January 2022, he called on protestors to be peaceful.[31]

As police moved to stop the protest, Dichter called on protestors to stand their ground, and called on police to let drivers remove their vehicles, before leaving Ottawa himself.[32][33]

He has self-published the book Honking for Freedom: The Truckers Convoy that Gave us Hope that was ghost written with former journalist John Goddard.[1] In the book, Dichter claimed that the Nazi flags observed at the protest were planted by agents of the Government of Canada, while later conceding in a 2022 interview with Canadian Jewish News that the flag may have been held by protestors.[1]

Dichter is target of a $300 million class-action lawsuit launched by Ottawa residents.[1]

At the Public Order Emergency Commission, Dichter testified that he had sought the removal of Pat King from the protest leadership,[34] and organised a crypto currency fundraiser for the protest.[35]

Views and punditry

Dichter promotes use of Bitcoin,[24] including during the Ottawa protest[36] and afterwards, speaking about use of cryptocurrency to keep crowdsourced donations outside of government control.[37] He has stated that the Liberal Party of Canada is "infested with Islamists".[38] He has said that "Justin Trudeau must be stopped…no matter the cost”[13] and has described all politicians of all parties as "all horrible, all of them".[21] The Toronto Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Centre has stated that Dichters comments on Islam as potentially islamophobic.[1] His anti-Islam views have were noted in the New York Times in 2022,[39] the Guardian quoted his warning of the “growing Islamization of Canada”.[40] Dichter has asked God to bless Ted Cruz and Ron DeSantis.[28]

He has criticized Pride Toronto for banning police, describing it as having gone "full circle from being a civil rights cause to a celebration to a form of regressive left political weaponry".[41]

Dichter is a regular pundit on Fox News[37] and on 27 January 2022,[42] he was a guest on Tucker Carlson's Fox News program.[13][43] He spoke about his journey to Ottawa ahead of the Ottawa protests, and how Alberta looked like a "third-world country" due the trucking industry being affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.[13] He has also appeared on Russian state controlled media RT.[34]

Personal life

Dichter lives in the Danforth area of Toronto.[14] He has previously lived in South America.[9]

He was aged 46 in December 2022.[1] He has a brother, who is a police officer.[41]

See also

2014 and 2015 politics

2022 protests

References
  1. Bessner, Ellin (December 8, 2022). "'Freedom is sometimes a messy business': The Freedom Convoy's former spokesman Benjamin Dichter's view of three weeks that paralyzed Ottawa". The Canadian Jewish News. Archived from the original on December 9, 2022. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
  2. "Where are they now? Fourteen public figures a year after the convoy protest". ottawacitizen. Retrieved June 9, 2023.
  3. US patent 6663128B2, Benjamin Joseph Dichter, "Magnetic tank pad", issued 2003-12-16
  4. Duhamel, Frédérik-Xavier (January 29, 2022). "Qui sont les participants à la manifestation des camionneurs?". Radio-Canada.ca (in Canadian French). Archived from the original on March 9, 2022. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
  5. "CFTRL Speakers". www.cftrl.org. Archived from the original on February 11, 2022. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
  6. Gully, Christopher (February 14, 2022). "Many players behind truckers' convoy protest, Hillier says 50 people 'in various control rooms or war rooms in hotels around the city'". The Hill Times. Archived from the original on March 1, 2022. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
  7. DeMara, Bruce (October 27, 2014). "Kristyn Wong-Tam easily wins Ward 27, Toronto Centre-Rosedale". The Toronto Star. ISSN 0319-0781. Archived from the original on June 29, 2018. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
  8. LePage, Michelle (October 22, 2014). "Your ward, your choice". Ryersonian.ca. Archived from the original on January 8, 2022. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
  9. De Melo, Chris (October 9, 2015). "LGBTory.ca founder ready for move from municipal to national politics" (PDF). Toronto Observer. p. 4. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 9, 2022. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
  10. "Benjamin Dichter". Toronto.com. August 25, 2014. Archived from the original on March 9, 2022. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
  11. Harris, Kathleen (September 29, 2015). "Replacement candidate scramble goes down to the wire". CBC. Archived from the original on March 9, 2022. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
  12. Miller, Adam (October 19, 2015). "Toronto-Danforth won by Julie Dabrusin in unexpected victory for the Liberals | Globalnews.ca". Global News. Archived from the original on April 13, 2022. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
  13. "Who is who? A guide to the major players in the trucker convoy protest". CTVNews. February 10, 2022. Archived from the original on March 9, 2022. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
  14. "Toronto-Danforth Conservatives name Benjamin Dichter as new candidate". Toronto.com. September 22, 2015. Archived from the original on March 9, 2022. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
  15. McClure, Match (October 9, 2015). "Climate change a hot topic at Toronto-Danforth debate" (PDF). Toronto Observer. p. 3. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 9, 2022. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
  16. Last, Paula (October 9, 2015). "Electoral reform on the agenda at debate" (PDF). Toronto Observer. pp. 1, 3. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 9, 2022. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
  17. Liu, Cherry (Changhong) (October 20, 2015). "Scott swept aside by Liberal tide". The Toronto Observer. Archived from the original on November 30, 2022. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
  18. "Maxime Bernier tells party faithfuls he will make it into the leaders' debates". The Globe and Mail. August 18, 2019. Archived from the original on March 9, 2022. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
  19. Balgord, Evan (December 6, 2017). "Conservative party leadership advisor helped create anti-Islam organization". www.vice.com. Archived from the original on March 9, 2022. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
  20. Levy, Sue-Ann (June 14, 2016). "Liberal left hijacked Toronto vigil for those killed in Orlando". torontosun.com. Archived from the original on December 16, 2022. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
  21. "Where's 'freedom' from here? Canada's convoy protests are over, but the anger remains - National | Globalnews.ca". Global News. Archived from the original on March 9, 2022. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
  22. "Bernier tries to walk line between libertarianism and identity politics at People's Party's first national convention". The Hamilton Spectator. August 19, 2019. ISSN 1189-9417. Archived from the original on March 15, 2022. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
  23. Boutilier, Alex (August 18, 2019). "Bernier tries to walk line between libertarianism and identity politics at People's Party's first national". The Toronto Star. ISSN 0319-0781. Archived from the original on March 8, 2022. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
  24. Freeze, Colin (February 11, 2022). "Convoy protests' key figures count liberal ideas, 'political Islam,' Ottawa's indifference toward the West among their grievances". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on March 1, 2022. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
  25. Smith, Joanna (August 18, 2019). "Maxime Bernier tells party faithful he will make it into the leaders' debates". The Chronicle-Journal. Archived from the original on March 9, 2022. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
  26. "'Freedom Convoy' protest: How did we get here?". CTVNews. February 8, 2022. Archived from the original on March 7, 2022. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
  27. Ki Sun Hwang, Priscilla (February 28, 2022). "Court extends rare order to freeze up to $20M in crypto, cash donations to 'Freedom Convoy'". CBC. Archived from the original on March 9, 2022. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
  28. "Police move in on Alberta protesters, issue warnings in Ottawa". CTVNews. February 9, 2022. Archived from the original on March 9, 2022. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
  29. "Another Ottawa convoy protest organizer denied bail in Ontario court". The Globe and Mail. February 28, 2022. Archived from the original on March 9, 2022. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
  30. "Freedom, politics, control and money: the many motivations of the 'Freedom Convoy'". CityNews Ottawa. Archived from the original on November 14, 2022. Retrieved November 30, 2022.
  31. "The convoy crisis in Ottawa: A timeline of key events". CBC. February 17, 2022. Archived from the original on March 9, 2022. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
  32. Cecco, Leyland (February 20, 2022). "Ottawa protests end with conspiracy claims and accusations of betrayal". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on February 21, 2022. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
  33. "Canadian police arrest at least 100 protesters in bid to break up Ottawa truck blockade". the Guardian. February 19, 2022. Archived from the original on March 10, 2022. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
  34. "Commission Rouleau : 800 000 $ en bitcoins ont été distribués aux camionneurs | Commission d'enquête sur l'état d'urgence". Radio-Canada.ca (in Canadian French). November 4, 2022. Archived from the original on November 21, 2022. Retrieved November 30, 2022.
  35. Osman, Laura; Fraser, David (November 3, 2022). "Benjamin Dichter helped promote a cryptocurrency fundraiser for convoy protest - The Globe and Mail". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on November 3, 2022. Retrieved November 30, 2022.
  36. Hawkins, Andrew J. (February 9, 2022). "The anti-vaxx Canadian truckers want to talk to you about Bitcoin". The Verge. Archived from the original on March 9, 2022. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
  37. "Was it really about vaccine mandates — or something darker? The inside story of the convoy protests". The Toronto Star. March 19, 2022. ISSN 0319-0781. Archived from the original on March 19, 2022. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
  38. "Walcott: We need to counter the Freedom Convoy with a rallying cry for equality and hope". calgaryherald. Archived from the original on March 15, 2022. Retrieved March 24, 2022.
  39. Nir, Sarah Maslin; Kitroeff, Natalie; Bilefsky, Dan; Austen, Ian (February 17, 2022). "Police Begin Arresting Protest Organizers in Canada". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on March 9, 2022. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
  40. "5G and QAnon: how conspiracy theorists steered Canada's anti-vaccine trucker protest". the Guardian. February 8, 2022. Archived from the original on August 7, 2022. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
  41. Levy, Sue-Anne (January 19, 2017). "Pride ban 'slap in the face' to cops: McCormack". edmontonsun. Archived from the original on December 6, 2021. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
  42. Smellie, Sarah (March 3, 2022). "Politics of convoy protests 'here to stay,' and so are movement's leaders: experts". The Chronicle-Journal. Archived from the original on March 9, 2022. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
  43. Dystart, Taylor (February 11, 2022). "The Ottawa trucker convoy is rooted in Canada's settler colonial history". Washington Post. Archived from the original on March 22, 2022. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
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