It’s ironic how an internet search regarding a comment made on a listserv leads you down a rabbit hole to a world you had no idea existed.
Without going too deep into that story, I found a reference to a police shooting of a Duncan Lemp, a white man in Potomac, MD in March 2020, when police raided his home with a no-knock warrant, days before Breonna Taylor was killed by a similar raid with a no-knock warrant.
Lemp was accused of having illegal guns and connections to white supremacy, pro-gun, and anti-government groups. His death resulted in him being called a martyr within the Boogaloo Bois.
If you are not familiar with Potomac, it is the home of some of the very rich in the Washington, DC metropolitan area — though photos of the family home show he and his parents, sibling and girlfriend live in a very modest home.
Ironically, Lemp was a software engineer who worked for a government contracting firm.
In the last days of 2020, the Howard County State’s Attorney deemed the shooting that killed the young man was justified.
Police: No charges for police in death of ‘boogaloo’ movement martyr
The fatally shot man was identified by police as 21-year Duncan Socrates Lemp, a Potomac resident.
Gibson’s office concluded that police in neighboring Montgomery County were justified in using deadly force against Lemp, Sandler said. Members of a tactical unit were serving a “no-knock” search warrant at the Lemp family’s home about 4:30 a.m. on March 12 when an officer fatally shot him.
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Lemp’s shooting galvanized a loose network of gun-toting, anti-government extremists promoting the “boogaloo,” a slang term for a second civil war or collapse of civilization. Many “boogaloo” movement promoters have hailed Lemp as a martyr and turned his name into a hashtag campaign on social media.
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The nascent “boogaloo” movement has been linked to a string of domestic terrorism plots and has been promoted by white supremacists, but many supporters insist they’re not truly advocating for violence. A post on Lemp’s Instagram account shortly before his death depicted two people holding up rifles and included the term “boogaloo,” which derives from the name of a 1980s-era movie sequel.
On social media accounts, Lemp’s username was “YungQuant.” On an internet forum called “My Militia,” a user identifying himself as Duncan Lemp, of Potomac, and posting under the username “yungquant” said he was “an active III%’r and looking for local members & recruits.” That’s an apparent reference to the Three Percenters, a wing of the militia movement.
This story had me curious as to what the hell is the boogaloo movement. The search of the term led me here. In brief:
The Boogaloo: Extremists’ New Slang Term for A Coming Civil War
From militia groups to white supremacists, extremists on a range of online platforms talk about—and sometimes even anticipate—the “boogaloo.” The rise of “boogaloo,” and its casual acceptance of future mass violence, is disturbing. Among some extremists, it may even signify an increased willingness to engage in violence.
USA Today did a story on this group in June 2020 in regards to these extremists and their anti-government actions during the coronavirus crisis and BLM protests.
“They believe that in this current moment, the chaos that surrounds us is signaling the potential for an impending second civil war which, believe it or not, they are hoping for because they believe that will rid the United States of all its problems,” Burghart told USA TODAY.
There are mainly two wings of the boogaloo movement, but their objective of overthrowing the government and sparking societal collapse remains the same, Newhouse said. One side is made up of some neo-Nazis and white supremacists, whose plan for destroying the government is by starting a race war.
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Another side is characterized as radical libertarian, notably men carrying weapons and wearing Hawaiian shirts. Some have recently been spotted at Black Lives Matter protests, waving anti-police signs alongside protesters, Newhouse said.
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The boogaloo bois' relationship to antifa – left-leaning, anti-racist groups that monitor and track the activities of neo-Nazis – is murkier. The libertarian side of the movement is split between members who see antifa as communists, whom they want to dissociate from, and members who see them as "brothers-in-arms," MacNab said.
The "boogaloo" name is a code word for the second civil war and came from the 1984 movie "Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo," according to Associated Press. The film is about breakdancing teens battling to save their local community center from corrupt politicians and corporate development.
These guys are certainly on the radar of law enforcement as they have become more active in domestic violence this year. They have also been involved in actions at the Michigan Capital Building
In May, three alleged boogaloo members were arrested on terrorism-related charges in what federal prosecutors say was a conspiracy to spark violence during protests in Las Vegas over reopening businesses and George Floyd's death. Authorities allege the three white men filled gas cans and made Molotov cocktails in glass bottles and were headed to a Black Lives Matter protest, according to a copy of the criminal complaint.
"Violent instigators have hijacked peaceful protests and demonstrations across the country, including Nevada, exploiting the real and legitimate outrage over Mr. Floyd’s death for their own radical agendas," said Nicholas A. Trutanich, U.S. attorney for the district of Nevada.
Now, I’ll circle back to what got me looking along this line. The right wing media is trying to tie Antifa and BLM to the Capitol riots and absolve the Trump supporters who just wanted to protest. And thus right-leaning individuals on listservs are out there pointing to it really being antifa and BLM as attacking the Capital. However, no mainstream media reports support that contention.
I have been questioning whether these individuals — the Boogaloo Bois, who have been infiltrating other protests — are involved. We here at dKos would probably see them as one and the same as the Proud Boys and QAnon. They do seem to have a more anti-law enforcement angle as compared with other right wing groups. I know as much as my web searches have generated, so I am still trying to understand how these different groups interact or relate to each other.
It seems the Boogaloo Bois are being looked at for their involvement in the Capitol attack by law enforcement.
From Reuters:
U.S. Capitol siege emboldens motley crew of extremists
WASHINGTON, Jan 8 (Reuters) - As the nation recoiled in horror at scenes of rioting and chaos in the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, some right-wing and anti-government extremists saw the violence as the fulfillment of a patriotic duty or opportunity to advance their agenda.
Among the inspired was Mike Dunn, a 20-year-old follower of the “boogaloo” anti-government movement, whose adherents anticipate a revolution toppling the federal government or a second U.S. civil war.
Dunn, who lives in Virginia, said three or four groups of loyalists under his command helped storm the Capitol this week amid a motley mix of rioters who supported President Donald Trump’s attempts to overturn the results of the November presidential election. While most “boogaloos” are libertarians who largely oppose Trump, Dunn said the group embraced the moment to strike against the government.
The mob swarmed the home of the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate, succeeding in temporarily interrupting a formal vote to confirm Democratic President-elect Joe Biden’s victory.
Dunn’s hope is that the incident - which resulted in five deaths - will trigger more actions in the months ahead. He said his group would seek to advance its own agenda by participating at protests and other events with those angry over Trump’s loss, even if they held other beliefs.
Dunn said boogaloos would be “working overtime” to advance their cause. When asked whether boogaloos had planned to attack the Capitol, he responded: “Just know there is more to come.”
I write this diary as an effort to make you aware of these different factions that exist and how they may interact with each other.
Those involved in peaceful protests against the war, for civil rights, and for women’s reproductive rights are familiar with outside groups coming in and causing problems — anarchists and antifa, to name a few.
We need to be vigilant against these anti-government types and violent extremists — and assist with the FBI in identifying those involved in the coup attempt at the Capitol. Make no mistake, this was not just some mischievous Trump supporters touring the Capitol with a few bad actors thrown in.
Reuters photographer Jim Bourg, who was photographing protesters trying to break down doors to the Capitol building, said he heard three older white men in red “Make America Great Again” caps talking about finding Vice President Mike Pence to hang him from a tree as a “traitor.”
Bourg said shouts of “traitor” were common among other demonstrators as well. Pence was presiding over the electoral vote count, a largely ceremonial duty to confirm Biden’s victory. Trump had falsely suggested to his followers that Pence could ignore the official count and hand Trump a second term. Security agents rushed Pence from the Senate chamber after protesters breached the Capitol building.
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But the mob’s strike at the symbolic heart of the U.S. government suggests that Trump’s baseless claims of election fraud may have unified a broader coalition of extremists who could pose a threat again when Biden takes office on Jan. 20 and into his four-year term in office, experts said.
Far-right groups have praised the siege in encrypted chat rooms and defended the participants as “patriots” on social media. Experts tracking protests expected actions in Texas and the Pacific Northwest in coming weeks, as well as around the inauguration in Washington. But turnout for those events remains unclear as Trump on Thursday finally conceded defeat and said he will be leaving office.
The question I have is — Is there anyone trying to organize these different right-wing factions into a semi-cohesive group to overthrow the government? Someone like a Steve Bannon-type? Or is it outside Trump’s sphere?
Personally, I have seen how those waving the Trump flags, the Don’t Tread on Me flags and the Confederate flags create a chilling effect on those around them. They are attempting to portray themselves as a group with power. I have seen the parades of them going around the Capital Beltway leading up to the elections. I have seen their boat brigades in Annapolis.
I don’t think they are going away easily, even when we successfully inaugurate Joe Biden. Especially given that they may have members within the military. And other far-right groups appeal to those in law enforcement. We need to do surveillance and flush them out of the shadows and arrest all those showing these radical tendencies — for the sake of preserving our democracy and peace in this country.
I am not alone in that assessment.
Tom O’Connor, a former FBI special agent, said he worries that far-right extremists and people who embrace conspiracy theories will feel that the Capitol attack represents “the first shot” in a broader war. He said lone actors may feel increasingly “victimized by the continued beat of the drum of conspiracies which will cause them to act out violently in a plethora of potential actions.”
According to the LA Times — The far right extremists are already planning for more attacks Jan 17 and 20th. And they are seeking to recruit those from the anti-vaccine movement and other groups that distrust the government.
They are looking at achieving Boogaloo — Civil War.