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Updated at 4:10 p.m. with additional material.
The full spectrum of the American right was on display Saturday at the second day of the Conservative Political Action Conference in Dallas — as everyone from Caitlyn Jenner to members of extremist groups mingled at the gathering.
Jenner’s appearance at the Trump-centric convention comes amid a long-shot bid to unseat California Gov. Gavin Newsom in a recall election. Jenner said on Friday she wouldn’t seek the endorsement of Donald Trump, who is headlining CPAC on Sunday.
In the lobby of the Hilton Anatole near downtown Dallas, Jenner mingled with supporters before walking over to the convention, where she did a few television interviews.
“My campaign is extraordinarily serious,” Jenner told a group of reporters. “I have spent the last three months, four months, studying, working on the issues, getting involved, going out, meeting with the people, doing press. Gavin Newsom is the worst governor we’ve had in the history of California, and we need to change that.
“Thank you for standing up in California!” one woman shouted at Jenner in the hotel lobby.
But, out of her earshot, some were less receptive toward the former Olympic champion decathlete, who is arguably the most prominent transgender conservative in America.
One woman took a selfie of herself with Jenner in the background, while smiling and calling Jenner the name she went by before she transitioned. Another woman approached a member of Jenner’s staff and said, “Are you with him?” while pointing at Jenner.
Jenner didn’t appear to hear either comment.
Members of two different extremist groups also were seen roaming the CPAC exhibit hall Saturday: Stewart Rhodes, the leader of the Oath Keepers militia, and two men with hats bearing the insignia of the Proud Boys, the far-right group known for participating in street brawls with leftist activists.
Members of both groups have been implicated for their alleged involvement in the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
Rhodes’ presence at the conference was first reported by Salon on Friday, which also reported that high-ranking CPAC officials were seeking guidance from federal officials about Rhodes’ presence at the convention.
The two Proud Boys, Asher Meza and Alexander Bouzakis, said they were at CPAC offering security to several vendors, which they declined to name. Meza said CPAC organizers and attendees alike welcomed them to the conference.
“They’ve come up to us and said, ‘We’re proud of what you do,’” Meza said.
Vendors throughout the exhibit hall vied to out-Trump each other, displaying hats in dozens of different styles, flags and T-shirts emblazoned with the former president’s name.
One T-shirt featured President Joe Biden’s face photoshopped with a toothbrush mustache, popularized by Adolf Hitler. “Not my dictator,” the shirt said.
Another booth sold rolls of toilet paper with Biden photoshopped to look like Hitler, Hillary Clinton behind bars, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi made to look like a Nazi.
Other items for sale in the hall included cigars, bedazzled handbags, pins, artwork and Trump Teddy bears — the latter of which a uniformed Dallas police officer was seen carrying through the exhibit hall in a gold-colored Trump shopping bag.
About 4 p.m., a group of more than a dozen white nationalists led by Nick Fuentes, who has not been welcomed to CPAC, paraded through the hotel, chanting. Fuentes, who has long espoused extremist views on Twitter, was banned by the social media network on Friday.
The group cornered and berated a journalist in the hotel lobby before several security guards appeared. One of them knew Fuentes by name.
The group walked and chanted through the hotel but did not make it to the portion where CPAC was being held. Several CPAC attendees cheered the group.
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