Facebook bans hundreds of groups and users linked to the boogaloo movement

• Facebook has banned from its platform a network of hundreds of Facebook accounts, groups and pages associated with the far-right “boogaloo” movement.
• In a statement, Facebook called the network a “violent” and “dangerous” organization. He said the specific network of hundreds of groups and accounts that he banned on his platform was distinct from the broader amorphous boogaloo movement because the former “actively seeks to commit violence.”
• The social media giant said it deleted 220 Facebook accounts, 95 Instagram accounts, 28 pages and 106 groups linked to the boogaloo network that it identified from its platform.
• Several people associated with the extremist movement have been arrested on charges of murder and domestic terrorism this month and in the wake of national protests against police brutality.
• The FBI, the Department of Homeland Security, and other agencies have also distributed a series of intelligence assessments that warn people linked to the Boogaloo movement that they incite violence during protests to start a second civil war.
• Visit the Business Insider home page for more stories.

Facebook announced Tuesday that it was banning a network of Facebook accounts, groups and pages associated with the far-right anti-government “boogaloo” movement from its platform, calling it a “violent” and “dangerous” organization.

“Today we are designating a violent US-based anti-government network as a dangerous organization and banning it from our platform,” the company said in a statement.

“This network uses the term boogaloo but is different from the broader and less affiliated boogaloo movement because it actively seeks to commit violence,” Facebook continued. “For months, we have removed boogaloo content when there is a clear connection to violence or a credible threat to public safety, and today’s designation will mean we will remove more content in the future, including Facebook groups and pages.”

As part of the designation, Facebook said it removed 220 Facebook accounts, 95 Instagram accounts, 28 pages and 106 groups linked to the boogaloo network that it identified from its platform. More than 400 groups and 100 pages were also removed from Facebook for hosting boogaloo-related content that violated company policy.

“We have always removed the content of boogaloo when we identified a clear call for violence,” Facebook said, adding that it has removed more than 800 posts related to the ideology that violated its violence and incitement policy in the past two months.

Extremist ideology has seen a revival after the death of George Floyd.

People and stories associated with the extreme right-wing extremist movement have become the center of attention in recent weeks, particularly in light of nationwide protests against police brutality after the death of George Floyd, 46 years, on Memorial Day in memory.

Politician reported on two new intelligence evaluations earlier this month warning that boogaloo extremists could soon target Washington, DC.

A note, dated June 15 from the National Capital Region Threat Intelligence Consortium (NTIC), said that “the District is likely a target for violent adherents of the Boogaloo ideology due to the significant presence of entities of US law enforcement and the wide range of First Amendment events hosted there. “

“Recent events indicate that violent supporters of the boogaloo ideology likely reside in the National Capital Region, and others may be willing to travel long distances to incite civil unrest from behavior violence encouraged in associated online forums. with the movement, “said the NTIC assessment, according to Politico.

Another note, dated June 20 from the Department of Homeland Security, said that “internal terrorists who advocate boogaloo will most likely take advantage of any regional or national situation involving increased fear and tension to promote their violent extremist ideology and call supporters to action. ” “

The primary purpose of the DHS memo is to provide information “on the exploitation by some domestic terrorists of high tensions during First Amendment protected activities to threaten or incite violence to initiate ‘boogaloo’, a colloquial term that refers to a looming civil war or the fall of civilization. “

On June 16, federal authorities said a man accused of killing two officers in recent separate attacks in California has ties to the “boogaloo” movement.

Air Force Sgt. Steven Carrillo was charged with killing a federal service officer, David Patrick Underwood, 53, in an Oakland courthouse in an attack on May 29, the Justice Department announced. Carrillo also faces state charges for the murder of the Santa Cruz County sergeant. Damon Gutzwiller on June 6.

Police authorities said Carrillo and his accomplice Robert Justus, Jr. went to Oakland to kill police officers and believed that the protests would facilitate their motives.

Earlier this month, three self-proclaimed members of the “boogaloo” movement were arrested on charges of domestic terrorism and accused of carrying unregistered firearms and trying to provoke riots during the protests.

Trump falsely accuses far-left group ‘antifa’ of stoking violence

The arrests come as President Donald Trump and his allies urge law enforcement officials to crack down on the protests and accuse the “antifa,” a group of far-left and poorly organized anti-fascist activists, of provoke violence during the Floyd protests.

But a closer look at court records, media reports, and social media posts shows little evidence of a widespread or organized effort led by antifa to infiltrate the protests.

In early June, The Nation reported that the FBI “had no intelligence to indicate Antifa’s involvement / presence” in the violence that occurred on May 31 when protests after Floyd’s death reached a climax. The report cited an internal situation report from the FBI field office in Washington, DC.

But the FBI report did They warned that people associated with a right-wing social media group had “called extreme right-wing provocateurs to attack federal agents” and “use automatic weapons against protesters.”

Politician also reported in early June that a DHS intelligence note warned law enforcement officials that a white supremacist channel on the encrypted messaging app Telegram encouraged its followers to incite violence to start a war. racially during protests.

Citing the FBI, he said that two days after Floyd’s death, the channel “incited followers to get involved in the violence and start the ‘boogaloo.'”

According to the policy, one of the messages on the channel asked potential shooters to “frame the crowd around them” for the violence, according to the note.