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According to a federal indictment, the killing of a federal officer in Oakland, the shooting of a police station in Minneapolis, and a plot to supply Hamas with weapons were not isolated incidents.
A photo captured a protester running in front of the burning 3rd precinct building of the Minneapolis Police Department during a protest that took place back on May 28th. The protester, identified as a young man, had come to the protest that was being held in response to the death of George Floyd.
Holy shit. So to summarize:
1. The Boogaloo boy who killed cops in California was in active communication with the boog guy who helped set fire to the 3rd precinct
2. The two seemed to be competing
3. They also seem to have been actively trying to spark a civil war https://t.co/5djV9BeFbe
— Robert Evans (The Only Robert Evans) (@IwriteOK) October 23, 2020
He was wearing a tactical vest on his chest and a skull mask over his face. According to reports, in grainy video footage captured outside of the 3rd precinct on the night of May 28th, the man can be seen pulling out an AK-47 style rifle and blasting 13 shots into the police building.
On Friday, October 23rd, federal officials issued a complaint against 26-year-old Ivan Harrison Hunter, from Texas, who they say is the man in the video. Hunter now faces one count of participating in a riot, with a sentence of up to five years in prison.
Along with the riot charge, federal officials unsealed an affidavit accusing Hunter of being part of a loose nationwide network of violent extremists known as âboogalooâ boys (bois).
According to authorities, the extremists connected and communicated through social media apps, including Facebook, to plot and glorify shocking violence.
Boogaloo Boy Charged for Opening Fire and Helping Set Minneapolis Police Precinct Ablaze During George Floyd Protests https://t.co/YzSAcDRmHq
— rolandsmartin (@rolandsmartin) October 25, 2020
These plots include killing a federal officer in Oakland and a scheme to supply Hamas with weapons to use against U.S. soldiers. Authorities said that just a few hours after allegedly shooting up the 3rd precinct in Minneapolis, Hunter messaged an associate in California, Steven Carrillo. His message said:
âBoog.â
Carrillo responded back:
âDid.â
Hunter said:
âGo for police buildings.â
Carillo wrote:
âI did better lol.â
According to authorities, shortly before that message exchange, Carrillo had shot and killed Federal Protective Service officer, David Patrick Underwood, in Oakland.
The affidavit also suggests evidence of a development that many have long suspected, that the so-called boogaloo boys may not be just disconnected extremists who share a mutual love for Hawaiian shirts and chaos, but that they have built nationwide systems to coordinate acts of violence and terror.
Charges: A Boogaloo Bois fired on Minneapolisâ Third Precinct with an AK-47-style gun and screamed âJustice for Floydâ as he ran away, in part of a coordinated attack by the far-right anti-government group during unrest over the death of George Floyd. https://t.co/j7YMiS4HKG
— Star Tribune (@StarTribune) October 23, 2020
Brian Levin, director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University San Bernardino said:
âThis now tells us the Boogaloo Bois are more than just a bunch of unconnected extremists. Itâs a network for extremists who communicate in real time around terror plots and attacks.â
According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, the boogaloo boys emerged from âantigovernment and white power online spaces in the early 2010s.â They have at times called for a second Civil War and are well known for wearing floral Hawaiian shirts with camouflage fatigues as well as subscribing to a range of extremist ideas.
The criminal complaint filed reveals a network across the country whose members have been directly linked with deadly acts, hoping to incite even more violence across the nation. Although the group used a variety of social media apps to communicate, the relied heavily on Facebook.
On June 30th, Facebook announced that it was banning the anti-government network from its platform. Despite the ban, much damage had already been done. Because of Facebook, the group had greatly expanded using the network.
'Boogaloo Boy' charged with inciting a riot, opening fire at Police Stationhttps://t.co/yPAI7V1PfH
— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) October 24, 2020
Now, groups like the boogaloo boys can simply move their network out of Facebook and into other encrypted apps and networks where they can continue to plot violent acts. According to reports, it was a May 26th Facebook post that prompted Hunter to drop everything, grab his AK-47 style rifle, and make the 1,000 mile drive from Austin to Minneapolis. The post read:
âI need a headcount.â
Hunter replied:
â72 hours out.â
Authorities said that the Facebook post Hunter responded to was posted by Michael Soloman, a 30-year-old, who along with Benjamin Ryan Teeter, is accused of trying to sell weapons to someone they believed was a member of Hamas.
Allegedly, the two considered becoming âmercenariesâ for the terrorist group in order to raise money to fund the boogaloo movement. As he headed to Minneapolis from North Carolina, Teeter posted on Facebook:
âLock and load boys. Boog flags are in the air and the national network is going off.â
According to the indictment, Hunter was identified as the shooter by a âcooperating defendant.â
One revelation from the complaint is that Hunter was in communication w/ fellow Boogaloo Steve Carillo the night the Minneapolis precinct burned. A few hours before this exchange, Carillo killed a police officer in CA, according to charges there. pic.twitter.com/G3I2UJyI1m
— Andy Mannix (@AndrewMannix) October 23, 2020
On June 1st, Carrillo was being sought by law enforcement after allegedly killing a federal officer in Oakland. Officials said Carrillo is believed to have taken advantage of the massive protests that have erupted across the country to âkill copsâ to try and spark a civil war.
Meanwhile, Hunter reportedly boasted of committing violent acts, claiming that he had âburned police stations with black panthers in Minneapolis.â He wrote:
âWant something to change? Start risking felonies for what is good.â
According to the criminal complaint, Hunter referred to himself as a âterroristâ and claimed that he and Carrillo were members of the âHappy Friends Group,â a team that would respond with violence if police tried to take their guns away.
Boogaloo bois *publicly* posted to Facebook on May 27 "Lock and load boys. Boog flags are in the air, and the national network is going off"
It was over a month after TTP warned about the boog organizing violence on FB.
Facebook didn't act until June 30 https://t.co/kPBJgDnXoC https://t.co/ueldk34QSZ pic.twitter.com/u5gc7uZxsb
— Tech Transparency Project (@TTP_updates) October 23, 2020
Months later after Hunter learned that Teeter and Soloman were arrested over their alleged plot to sell weapons to Hamas, the 26-year-old told a confidential informant working with the FBI that it was âtime to start shootingâ and that he was willing to âgo down shooting.â
Between the presidential debates, the election and the pending confirmation hearings of Amy Coney Barrett, there is plenty of kindling to be added to an already burning fire of civil unrest coming from far-left ideologies, such as Black Lives Matter and Antifa.
As such, the National Guard has already started prepping two military police (MP) units from Arizona and Alabama to be ready to deploy within 24 hours if requested by the governor of another state.
While leadership for the National Guard did not provide a specific reason behind the increased readiness, one can speculate that the events of the next few 30+ days was the catalyst.
The MPs will serve as a Quick or Rapid Reaction Force (QRF/RRF).
âNational Guard taps units for rapid response to civil unrestâ https://t.co/dkN3QWXU68
— Rachel Maddow MSNBC (@maddow) October 2, 2020
As reported by Stars and Stripes:
âAccording to the Guard, about 600 troops â 300 in both Alabama and Arizona â will be ready to deploy within 24 hours if requested by a governor in another state.
And Guard leaders have also bought more than $200,000 in new protective equipment, and have increased troop training on proper procedures in dealing with protests.
The moves come as Defense Department and National Guard leaders work to address shortfalls that were identified in the military response to the June protests triggered by the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
Military reviews of the response to the protests found problems with coordination between various state and federal government and law enforcement agencies â which at times slowed down troop movements.â
Stars and Stripes highlighted the conversation that Secretary of the Army Ryan McCarthy had with the Associated Press regarding the use of the National Guard earlier this year.
At the height of deployments this year, there were over 43,000 Guard members deployed across 34 states and Washington, DC. The current numbers are roughly 3,200 across 10 states.
âCoordination and communication were the probably the things that weâll look back on and see very challenging,â said Secretary McCarthy.Â
Eleven states indicated that they were prepared to share their National Guard elements.
âBut the problem with that is how quickly can you marshal them together, ensure they have the appropriate training, ensure they have the appropriate equipment, understand the task youâre going to give them?â said McCarthy. âItâs American streets. It could turn violent. It was an incredibly challenging thing.â
We have already seen the arguments from many on the left that the Trump administration was turning our soldiers against our own citizenry.
As difficult as it may seem, the men and women in all branches of our armed services, to include the Guard and the Reserves took an oath. And that oath starts with a solemn pledge to âdefend the Constitution of the United States against ALL enemies, foreign and domestic,â and to âbear true faith and allegiance to the same.â
But that hardly means that the President is âweaponizing the militaryâ to control American citizens.
That means that yes, the military can be used to stop those that plan to subvert the Constitution, even if those subverts are Americans.
At the high-water mark in June, President Trump was having serious conversations about invoking the Insurrection Act.
Secretary of Defense Mark Esper told reporters that we were not at the level of violence in our streets and that it should only be deployed âin the most urgent and dire of situations.â
âWe are not in one of those situations now,â he said.Â
That was in June. Law Enforcement Today looked for additional comments from the top civilian from the Department of Defense, but could not find one. It would be interesting to see if his thoughts have changed considering 100+ consecutive nights of violent riots in Portland.
If the Guard elements from Arizona or Alabama are deployed, here is how the Guard would manage it, as reported by Stars and Stripes.
âLt. Gen. Mark Sasseville, vice chief of the National Guard Bureau, said the Guard employs a graduated approach, with states using their own troops first, and then, if more help is needed, they request forces from other states within their region. If more support is needed, then governors reach out to states further away.
âThat makes sense because typically the states have good relations with the neighboring states,â said Sasseville. âSpeed becomes an element of this discussion.â
Guard officials said the forces in Alabama would respond in the eastern half of the country, and those in Arizona would respond in the west, and their deployment window at this point extends through the end of this year.
âA big thing that weâve done differently is being able to move faster,â said Sasseville, adding that the Guard also had to buy equipment to replace protective gear for some units.â
According to that same interview, Guard units have spent more than $200,000 on protective equipment.
But there are those who seem to be completely fine with the violence in their cities and think that the need to deploy Guardsmen is merely a talking point for Fox News.
Chris Wallace said Portland had 100 nights of riots, which is absurdly misinformed (even by the low standards of a PPB riot). The idea that Biden should be egging on Kate Brown to call in the national guard, as a neutral position, is also commonsense in only in a FoxNews universe
— Tim Dickinson (@7im) September 30, 2020
If you have read Law Enforcement Today for more than a minute, you have seen the number of stories dedicated to the violence in Portland. The facts do not lie. It was well into 100 consecutive nights. The loss to property is costly. The loss of life and injuries sustained by police and innocent bystanders is unacceptable.
Unless of course, like Tim in the tweet above, you are a fan of the unrest and the violence.