Several of the six men charged in federal court Thursday with a conspiracy to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer have histories of anti-government organizing, as well as interest in countering what they saw as an "uprising" against President Donald Trump, according to their online profiles and comments.
During the first presidential debate, when asked if he would condemn white supremacist violence by groups like the Proud Boys, President Trump was defiant, remarking: “Almost everything I see is from the left-wing, not the right-wing.”
But that very same day, the FBI issued an intelligence report warning of an imminent “violent extremist threat” posed by a far-right militia that includes white supremacists—identifying the current election period up to the 2021 inauguration as a “potential flashpoint.”
The report obtained exclusively by The Nation and titled “Boogaloo Adherents Likely Increasing Anti-Government Violent Rhetoric and Activities, Increasing Domestic Violent Extremist Threat in the FBI Dallas Area of Responsibility,” warns of the threat posed by the far-right militia group known as the “Boogaloos.”
(Ken Klippenstein. “As Trump Equivocates on White Supremacy, the FBI Warns of Right-Wing Terror.” The Nation. September 30, 2020.)
Marked “FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY” and “LAW ENFORCEMENT SENSITIVE,” the document was prepared by the FBI’s Dallas Field Office and is dated September 29, 2020. It draws on a wide array of intelligence sources. The document points to several catalysts for the rise in the group’s membership, including resentment over perceived government overreach embodied by the Covid-19 shutdown and the presidential election.
Ken Klippenstein reports …
“The report mentions one source, claiming to have 'direct access' to the Boogaloos, quoting a heavily armed member’s intentions to “hunt” anti-fascist anarchists and shoot any looters. The language echoes that of President Trump, who, following this summer’s civil unrest, tweeted, 'When the looting starts, the shooting starts.'
“As The Nation reported in June, the same day that Trump announced his intention to designate 'Antifa' a terrorist group, the FBI’s Washington Field Office was unable to find any evidence of antifa involvement in the violence. However, in July, The Nation reported that the US intelligence community was tracking a 'potential threat to law enforcement' from the Boogaloos.
“While antifa groups have engaged in acts of property destruction and sometimes violence, a recent study published by the Center for Strategic and International Studies found that anti-fascist groups have not been involved in a single murder in the United States in the past 25 years.
“The intelligence report concludes by citing concerns of the Boogaloos’ increased ‘patrolling’ or 'attendance at events” amenable to their cause. You might say those orders are coming from the top – at the presidential debate … President Trump called for his supporters to patrol polling places. 'I’m urging my supporters to go into the polls and watch very carefully because that’s what has to happen,' Trump said.”
(Ken Klippenstein. “As Trump Equivocates on White Supremacy, the FBI Warns of Right-Wing Terror.” The Nation. September 30, 2020.)
Cassie Miller, senior research analyst at the Southern Poverty Law Center, says
“We have seen Trump do this since the beginning of his presidency, which is essentially draw attention to antifa as this boogeyman. And you know, really what it is, is a community-based movement that aims to remedy racial and economic injustice and to fight fascism. But with the effort of the far right, they've basically made antifa out to be this much larger and more terrifying social force than it actually is.
“And that does a couple things. It distracts from the fact that the far right in this country really holds a monopoly on political violence. A report just came out from Reveal, from the Center for Investigative Reporting, that showed that during the first three years of the Trump presidency, the far right has killed 87 people and antifa has not killed anyone. So, you know, to say that they're a domestic terror organization does nothing but distract from right wing violence. And perhaps even more dangerously, it's an attempt to criminalize what is genuine political protest.”
The Boogaloos don't operate in a vacuum. Their goals overlap with a number of far-right, anti-government groups that pose a serious threat – from the Proud Boys, to the Oath Keepers, to the Three Percenters, to the Sovereign Citizens, and to the Ku Klux Klan.
These groups are heavily armed, many of which also have military training. Cynthia Miller-Idris, an expert on domestic extremist groups at American University, reported in June that the Boogaloo Boys have mobilized “over the past six months in three separate waves of protests” – against attempts by state legislatures to reform gun laws; against the coronavirus lockdowns and shelter-in-place orders; and as part of the demonstrations and marches against police brutality and racism, in the wake of the George Floyd killing.
(Mehda Hasan. “How the Far-Right Boogaloo Movement Is Trying to Hijack Anti-Racist Protests for a Race War.” The Intercept. June 10, 2020.)
In June, Reuters cited a study from the Tech Transparency Project, saying “tens of thousands of people joined boogaloo-related Facebook groups over a 30-day period in March and April as stay-at-home orders took effect across the United States. … Project researchers found discussions about tactical strategies, weapons and creating explosives in some Boogaloo Facebook groups.”
(Ted Hassan. “Explainer: Who are Antifa, the 'boogaloo' movement and others blamed in U.S. protest violence?” Reuters. June 05, 2020.)
Trump and his administration need to denounce far-right supremacist groups NOW with the FULL FORCE of a united government. The conspiracy to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is evidence of the horrible results of their refusal to do so. Trump didn’t condemn white supremacist groups and their role in violence in some American cities this summer, branding it solely a “left-wing” problem and telling one far-right extremist group to “stand back and stand by.” That “stand by” messaged full compliance and full speed ahead to the Boogaloos.
"[The Boogaloo Boys] are really a reflection of this larger political moment that we're in right now, which is one of really intense political polarization and a declining faith in democracy and a lack of trust in our institutions."
– Cassie Miller, senior research analyst at the Southern Poverty Law Center
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