LOS ANGELES — Conservative influencer Benny Johnson arrived in Los Angeles Tuesday promising to blow the lid off “the biggest fraud on Earth” — claiming it is the center of a $24 billion taxpayer-funded “Homelessness Industrial Complex” that thrives on failure and human misery.
“Today is the day. We have landed in California,” Johnson posted.
“We have one mission: to expose the fraud and corruption that is killing one of America’s greatest states.”
Johnson said he’s partnering with researchers and watchdogs who “have the receipts” — vowing to blow the lid off waste, fraud and abuse in Los Angeles the way YouTuber Nick Shirley did in Minneapolis.
He branded the city “the heart of the biggest fraud on Earth.”
In a string of videos and posts, Johnson pointed to $5-per-gallon gas, broken-down cars, sprawling encampments and open drug use, warning that California is preparing to host the Olympics while struggling to keep sidewalks clear.
One of his first stops: Randy’s Donuts, the LA landmark immortalized in Hollywood films. Johnson said the scene was a snapshot of California in collapse.
“Full homeless encampment takeover. Open drug use. Addicts shooting up and crashing on the sidewalk,” he posted, claiming staff were forced to shoo people away as he waited for donuts. “This is California in freefall. A third-world hellscape.”
Johnson also reignited his ongoing war with Gov. Gavin Newsom, responding directly to the governor online with video of encampments.
“This cost $24 billion dollars? You’re proud of this?” Johnson wrote, accusing Newsom of helping to preside over three decades of decline.
“The dirty secret is you don’t want to solve homelessness because it’s such a lucrative grift for your friends.”
He mocked Newsom for briefly “solving” homelessness when Chinese President Xi Jinping visited San Francisco, arguing it proved the crisis can be cleaned up — just not for residents. “So you clearly CAN do it,” Johnson wrote. “You just won’t.”
The California trip comes after Newsom’s press office took a personal swipe at Johnson, posting a snide remark about “Grindr servers,” widely interpreted as a jab at claims about Johnson’s sexuality.
Johnson fired back, accusing the governor of deflecting from policy failures with “tasteless” personal attacks and defending his marriage of nearly 20 years.
“This isn’t just California’s problem,” Johnson said. “The criminality here steals from all American taxpayers.”
He added: “Don’t worry, the world is going to know where the money went soon.”
