FBI: Extremist Boogaloo Movement Planning Sunday Protests

By Charlie McCarthy(NEWSMAX)

Right-wing extremists were planning protests in Washington, D.C., and in state capitals this Sunday, according to an FBI report.

Yahoo News obtained an FBI document warning state and local law enforcement about threats of possible violence stemming from rallies by the far-right boogaloo movement. The report described evidence of credible threats specifically related to events planned at state Capitol buildings in Michigan and Minnesota.

The FBI’s Minneapolis field office produced the report, issued a week before Wednesday’s U.S. Capitol riot, based on information provided by what it described as “collaborative sources.”

The Dec. 29 report warned “some [boogaloo] followers indicated willingness to commit violence in support of their ideology, created contingency plans in the event violence occurred at the events, and identified law enforcement security measures and possible countermeasures,” Yahoo News reported Monday.

The rallies in Michigan and Minnesota apparently are part of what boogaloo members hope will be a nationwide “armed march” on Capitol Hill and all 50 state capitals.

The report did not say how many people were expected to participate in the demonstrations.

The FBI’s warning was disclosed after people protesting the presidential election results stormed the U.S. Capitol and infiltrated both the House and Senate chambers on Jan. 6. Five people died as a result of the riot.

Federal law enforcement has been criticized for failing to prepare for the insurrection at the Capitol. The FBI and the Department of Homeland Security’s intelligence unit did not issue a threat assessment for the Capitol protest, despite an abundance of evidence on social media leading up to it, according to The Wall Street Journal.

ABC News also reported Monday the FBI has issued an internal bulletin about plans for the armed protests starting this week and lasting through Inauguration Day.

According to the FBI report, some Minnesota-based boogaloo members attended protests earlier in December at the state Capitol in Saint Paul to scout the area, and identify escape routes and defensible positions for the Jan. 17 rally.

“One Boogaloo movement follower indicated the building with the snipers would need to be blown up in order to protect Boogaloo fighters in the event of a gun battle during the event,” the report stated.

Another boogaloo member apparently planned to “put colored duct tape on the back of his body armor” to mix in with law enforcement.

In Michigan, a boogaloo follower suggested using a gasoline-based device with a tripwire “to cause a distraction while other individuals ‘take’ the Capitol,” according to FBI report.

The term “boogaloo” has evolved in recent years from an offbeat Internet joke referring to a second civil war to an extremist rallying cry. It is linked to a growing number of violent incidents and plots to bring about the violent overthrow of what followers perceive to be a tyrannical government.