- Click to share on Facebook (Opens in a new window)
- Click to share on Twitter (Opens in a new window)
- Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in a new window)
- Click to email a friend (Opens in a new window)
Dangers of rubber bullets and other less lethal weapons 2:45
(CNN) - Benjamin Ryan Teeter was at his home in Hampstead, North Carolina when the call to action came. It was an alert from the heart of the furious protests in Minneapolis, posted on an online forum by a member of the Boogaloo movement, a group of heavily armed anti-government extremists.
The "alert" was given by a man who had an encounter with the Minneapolis police while he was on the front line of protests against police brutality initiated by the death of George Floyd.
"They shot tear gas in his face," Teeter said, and "sent a national notice to our network."
Benjamin Ryan Teeter (front) during a protest against the confinement order in Raleigh, North Carolina, last month.
After Teeter, known as 'Ryan', claimed to have seen the post online, he and a handful of Boogaloo's friends who were in the area mobilized.
They took up their weapons, mostly assault rifles, got into their vehicles and made the 18-hour trip to Minneapolis.
The Boogaloo are an emerging embodiment of extremism that seems to defy easy categorization. They are another confounding factor in the effort of local, state and federal officials to decipher the political sympathies of agitators who come to the mostly peaceful protests of George Floyd who have destroyed property, looted or, in the case of the Boogaloo who went down to Minneapolis, walked the streets with assault rifles.
Boogaloo members seem to have conflicting ideological views, some identify as anarchists and others reject formal titles. Some factions in the group are white supremacists, while others reject that stance. But they have at least two things in common: an affinity for carrying firearms in public and the "boogaloo" war cry, which is commonly seen as a code for another civil war in the United States.
Megan Squire, a professor of computer science at Elon University in North Carolina who monitors extremism online, said the movement started on obscure online platforms.
"Now it is growing on the main platforms, and in this moment of protest it is starting to go from virtual to face-to-face," he said. "It resembles the militia movement that preceded it, which has been well documented as a force for promoting violence."
LOOK : Miami-Dade police confirm infiltrators in protests by George Floyd
Teeter, in an interview with CNN, said he identifies himself as an anarchist. His mission in Minneapolis, he said, was to protect protesters from police abuse and white supremacists, whom he deplores.
"If people are going to start a deadly force against us, we must be willing and able to start a deadly force back," said Teeter, 22.
Despite the presence of Teeter and, he said, a dozen of his compatriots, federal, state and local officials have so far presented little evidence to suggest that there is widespread organization and mobilization by any ideological group. A CNN review of the background of those arrested during the first three days of protests in Minneapolis revealed no obvious links to known organizations.
Some police officers said they suspect that much of the riot and looting was not perpetrated by ideological extremists, but by smaller groups of criminal opportunists seeking to profit by stealing merchandise.
“These are common criminals. They are not protesters, ”said a senior Los Angeles Police official. In Los Angeles, he said, roving gangs of thieves circulated in cars and communicated by cell phone, identifying businesses to loot.
Still, there are some documented reports of individuals affiliated with left and right groups on the extremist spectrum mingling among the least organized.
In Nevada, federal prosecutors this week indicted three men who allegedly identified with the Boogaloo movement for possessing an explosive "Molotov cocktail" and conspiring to "cause destruction during the Las Vegas protests," according to an office news release. of the United States Attorney General.
Stephen T. "Kiwi" Parshall, Andrew Lynam and William L. Loomis, all with military experience, attended a protest on May 29 in honor of George Floyd in Las Vegas, according to the criminal complaint. Parshall allegedly tried to encourage violence "by telling protesters that peaceful protests do nothing," the complaint says. The three men were arrested on their way to a second Floyd-related rally the next day, allegedly armed with a Molotov cocktail, according to records.
Armed members of Boogaloo have also appeared in George Floyd protests in Minneapolis, Salt Lake City, Dallas, Atlanta and elsewhere, according to The Washington Post.
Known for wearing Hawaiian shirts and reaching heavily armed public protests, the decentralized Boogaloo movement, sometimes referred to as "Boogaloo Bois," is often associated with the far right.
But it is far from a cohesive group, said JJ MacNab, a member of George Washington University who studies anti-government extremism.
"While there are pockets of Boogaloo white supremacists, the youngest and largest groups generally are not," he said in a recent Twitter thread. "While there are Boogaloos who support the police, the younger and larger groups detest them. While there are Boogaloos who want to discredit the protests over the murder of a black man, there are younger Boogaloos who are outraged at the murder and want to join the protests. "
MacNab added that such internal divisions do not always develop according to age.
"They share jargon, outfits, a love of firearms and a desire to use violence to gain power, but they don't really share a common goal once power is achieved," he said.
READ : White supremacists pose as Internet antifa and call for violence
The origin of the name is believed to date back to a 1980s breakdance sequel called "Breakin '2: Electric Boogaloo." The term "boogaloo" in recent years has become an online reference for social unrest and the desire for a second civil war.
"The boogaloo meme" is a "joke to some," but "to others, it acts as a violent meme that circulates instructions for a violent viral insurgency," says a document published in February by the Network Contagion Research Institute, a group of researchers. freelancers monitoring disinformation and hate speech, in association with Rutgers University.
Called 'boogaloo', this ideology is self-organizing in social media communities, has tens of thousands of users, exhibits a complex division of labor, ”the report says, and“ develops well-developed channels to innovate and distribute violent propaganda. ” .
There are signs that supporters have ventured out of chat rooms into the real world, especially at various reopening rallies during the confinement by covid-19. In April, a Boogaloo devotee was arrested in Texas for allegedly trying to find and kill police officers while filming on Facebook Live, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.
The move appears to have gained considerable traction in recent months.
The Technology Transparency Project of a nonprofit watchdog group called Campaign for Accountability released a report this spring that concludes that over 60% of Boogaloo's 125 identifiable Facebook groups have emerged since January, and gained momentum after the start. of the blockages by covid-19.
To speak to Teeter, who also recently attended protests denouncing the closings for covid-19, is to get an idea of just how deeply revolted Boogaloo's ideology can be.
"I am a member of the LGBT community," said Teeter, who describes himself as a left-wing anarchist who does not vote. "People think I am part of a Nazi group; I'm not".
But, he added, "I don't think people should be forced to bake the cake," referring to a United States Supreme Court case that stemmed from the Christian owner of a bakery in Colorado refusing to make a wedding cake. for a homosexual couple.
In Minneapolis, Teeter said, he and other members of his group were sentinels with firearms outside family stores, but in solidarity with the black community in opposition to police brutality.
“We are very careful to make sure that people realize that we are on their side. We are here to defend them… Once people realize that we are on their side and we are here to protect them, they have all been - almost everyone - they have been very happy to have us here. ”
Teeter said he was home schooled but did not complete college despite being offered scholarships.
"I've always been able to educate myself," he said. "We have the internet. You can learn everything you want, learn for free. ”
It has had some friction with the law. He said in a recent podcast that he has been in jail "eight or nine" times, although he suggested that at least some of those incidents involved actions related to his activism.
An administrator at the New Hanover County Criminal Court in North Carolina told CNN that Teeter has had a pending charge since January 2019 for firing a firearm within the city limits. Teeter told CNN that an accidental shot occurred while cleaning the gun.
His social media posts seem to be consistent with his idiosyncratic political persuasions: photos of himself wearing a bulletproof vest or participating in reopening protests, and memes lamenting police brutality, celebrating black men with guns, ridiculing President Trump so much like Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, and glorifying the Boogaloo movement and the notion of "civil conflict to come."
Extremism experts say other militias are starting to adopt the nickname Boogaloo.
A report on the "militia sphere" released Tuesday by the Network Contagion Research Institute said that militias like Oath Keepers and Three Percenters "now share the same boogaloo meme in both the virtual and real worlds."
Squire said there appears to be a generational divide in the Boogaloo movement, with the youngest subset immersed in online meme culture and the largest group seeking a rebrand.
MIRA : Facebook closes far-right group that planned to bring weapons to protests
"It's like an updated and younger version," he said. “And that is appealing to guys who are in the meme age group, very online. But it is also attractive for these older boys, who are a bit obsolete. ”
Squire, who tracks online conversation from groups like Boogaloo, alerted CNN to Teeter's trip to Minneapolis. She said he is emblematic of the younger subset. But according to the social media data he monitors, Squire said Teeter stands out for taking the initiative to drive to Minneapolis.
"We have seen fewer such cases of driving across the country, because protests have erupted in more places," he said. "And these guys who have doubts about whether to go or not, can stay where they are and protest locally."
Teeter, by contrast, is proactive, Squire said.
"He is engaged," she said. "He is an avant-garde."
On the streets of Minneapolis, Teeter said his group was not always "equipped" with drawn weapons. During the day, when the protests have been more peaceful, Teeter said, he and his companions have mingled with the crowd, throwing slogans.
He said they often draw their weapons later in the day and at night, "once things start to get dark."
CNN's Scott Bronstein, Scott Glover and Collette Richards contributed to this report.
Racism