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Hawaiian shirts, assault rifles and civil war: how the “Boogaloo Boys” infiltrate protests in the United States

2020-06-10T15:10:34.372Z


A mysterious movement born on the Internet takes advantage of the demonstrations to fuel tensions.The police violence denounced in the United States is no longer the only problem of the demonstrators: nationalists in Hawaiian clothes, wearing an igloo badge, overarmed, are now roaming the crowds and waiting for the opportune moment to " provoke a civil war ". " Violent actors have hijacked peaceful protests throughout the country, including Nevada, exploiting the real and legitimate anger arou...


The police violence denounced in the United States is no longer the only problem of the demonstrators: nationalists in Hawaiian clothes, wearing an igloo badge, overarmed, are now roaming the crowds and waiting for the opportune moment to " provoke a civil war ". " Violent actors have hijacked peaceful protests throughout the country, including Nevada, exploiting the real and legitimate anger aroused by the death of George Floyd in the service of their extremist aims ," the federal prosecutor said in a statement. 'State of Nevada, Nicolas Trutanich.

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This June 3, in the heart of a rally for the memory of George Floyd, in Las Vegas, three activists are arrested in possession of molotov cocktails and explosive devices. They are suspected of having wanted to commit a " terrorist act ". The accused, aged 23 to 40, White, belong to a movement called Boogaloo.

This term originally designates a resolutely funk dance, with Afro-Cuban airs, widely popularized in the 1984 film breakout'2: Electric Boogaloo . Mocked and often considered racist, the film generates a series of memes (funny pictures, Editor's note) on the American forums of 4chan in 2012. Hijacked, its title becomes Civil War 2: Electric Boogaloo , in reference to the re-election of Barack Obama, as Vox explains.

An imminent civil war

Over the years, many supporters of the movement believe that a civil war is imminent in the United States, and that one must be prepared for it by being armed. The Boogaloo movement then became the champion of pro-weapons, and was associated with all the American news concerning gun control. He considers, in addition, that the American government increasingly encroaches on the fundamental freedoms of the Americans, by going against the Constitution.

Read also: Death of George Floyd: American Democrats unveil their plan to reform the police

Some of the Boogaloo Boys (or Boogaloo Bois, big luau, big igloo ...) radicalized, imagined themselves in opposition to the " wooden alphabet " (federal agencies), and discovered two symbols to recognize themselves outside the forums: Hawaiian shirts and igloo-shaped badges.

Increasing visibility

In late January 2020, as a bill in Kentucky seeks to tighten control over the sale of firearms, several pro-arms demonstrators arise in the state capitol, armed with assault rifles, reports Le Monde . Some of them wear ... a Hawaiian shirt.

On March 12, an American SWAT team took over the home of Duncan Socrates Lemp and discovered an important arsenal of firearms. The 21-year-old man, an active member of the Boogaloo movement and associated with the 3 Percenters, a far-right paramilitary group, was shot dead during the operation. Duncan Lemp becomes a martyr and allows the Boogaloo movement to gain immense visibility.

Read also: United States: the racial divide at the heart of the presidential election

" Provocators of chaos "

For Alexander Reid Ross, researcher at the Center for Analysis of the Radical Right, interviewed by Radio Canada, the Boogaloo Boys " are provocateurs of chaos. They will go to the demonstrations with their weapons, then they will say that they are simply there to defend the demonstrators from the police, or even to protect the owners of small businesses. But those who truly represent this ideology are those who were arrested in Las Vegas. And to continue: " They try to use the left and the right in their movement of insurrection to cause the civil war. In truth, their motivations stem from the ideology of the far right. They are only trying to change their image. "

In a Facebook post, the Boogaloo Bois group does not defend itself from such an ideology:" I address myself to all the newcomers on the page: if your opinion on wood boog is based on the bullshit that CNN and the other mainstream media, know that nothing posted here will change your thinking. So please continue to threaten us with death, we laugh about it ”.

Source: lefigaro

All news articles on 2020-06-10

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