Suspected Boogaloo Members Face Terrorism Charges in Minnesota

Two American men who prosecutors say are members of an anti-government extremist group, who carried guns on the streets of Minneapolis during the riots after George Floyd’s death and talked about shooting police, blowing up a courthouse and killing politicians, have been charged with federal terrorism. bill.

Michael Robert Solomon, 30, of New Brighton, Minnesota, and Benjamin Ryan Teeter, 22, of Hampstead, North Carolina, are members of the “Boogaloo Bois,” authorities say.

They are accused of conspiring to provide and attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, of allegedly building firearms suppressors they believed to have sold to Hamas, and of allegedly offering to fight as “mercenaries” of the group.

Assistant Attorney General John Demers said in a statement that people seeking to engage in terrorist activities will be held accountable, “no matter what kind of ideological motivation inspires them.”

Solomon and Teeter made their first court appearance by video conference Friday in US District Court, both were named federal defenders, but no attorneys were immediately assigned to comment on their behalf.

Floyd, a black man, died on May 25 after a white Minneapolis police officer pressed his knee against Floyd’s neck for nearly eight minutes, as Floyd repeatedly said he couldn’t breathe. His death, captured on video from a passerby, sparked protests in Minneapolis and beyond.

Authorities began investigating the Boogaloo Bois after learning that some members were talking about violence and were armed during the riots in Minneapolis. Boogaloo supporters, who use the movement’s name as a slang term for a second civil war or the collapse of civilization, frequently show up at protests armed with rifles and wearing Hawaiian shirts.

According to an FBI affidavit, Solomon posted a message on Facebook on May 26 asking people to contact him on an encrypted platform. That same day, Teeter posted publicly: “Lock and load guys. Boog flags are in the air and the national grid is blaring.” His public posts show that he later traveled from North Carolina to Minnesota.

A witness told the FBI that Solomon was seen openly carrying a firearm and said he was part of a Boogaloo Bois subgroup called “Boojahideen” and was willing to protect the witness from police, white supremacists and looters.

Solomon allegedly said his mission was to get the police out of the city. The witness later invited Solomon, Teeter, and another person to stay at the witness’s home, where they discussed committing acts of violence against police and other targets, the affidavit says.

The witness said Solomon and Teeter talked about attacking a National Guard arsenal to steal weapons and bombs. A paid informant, who Teeter and Solomon believed belonged to Hamas, later recorded a conversation in which Solomon, Teeter, and another person talked about shooting the police.

During many conversations, Solomon and Teeter told the informant that the views of Hamas, a Palestinian Islamic political party, aligned with their own anti-government views and wanted to work as “mercenaries” on behalf of the Hamas armed wing in order to earn money. effective for the Boogaloo movement. They said they needed money to recruit members and buy land for a Boogaloo training complex.

According to the affidavit, they came up with a plot to blow up a historic county courthouse in northern Minnesota so they could “make a statement,” but then they delayed that plan. Solomon later said, “I want to assassinate a group of American politicians. That is the statement I want to make.”

Solomon and Teeter met an undercover FBI employee, whom they believed to be a higher-ranking Hamas member, and offered to build firearm suppressors and other weapons for the group. They believed that the suppressors they sold went to Hamas to be used abroad to target Israeli and US forces, the affidavit says.

When the undercover FBI employee asked for explanations about the murder of politicians, Solomon said that he would “build a gallows … in front of the Congress building in DC and begin hanging politicians from left to right.” Speaking of possible safety, Teeter said he could shoot from a distance and that “threats that cannot be seen cannot be stopped,” the affidavit says.

– Associated Press