ExtremismBoogaloo Supporters Animated by Lockdown Protests, Recent Incidents

Published 22 May 2020

Across the country, boogalooers are energized by resistance to lockdown restrictions, which they view as tyrannical government overreach. Boogaloo adherents have shown up at numerous lockdown protests, waving boogaloo signs, wearing Hawaiian shirts, and carrying firearms, sometimes illegally. These boogalooers are part of an embryonic, decentralized movement that organizes largely online but whose presence has increasingly been felt in the real world. While boogaloo supporters hail from a variety of movements, and include some white supremacists who advocate for race war, the lockdown protests have largely featured the anti-government version of the boogaloo favored by the militia, gun rights, and anarcho-capitalist movements. Boogaloo advocates are talking openly about providing protection for local businesses determined to reopen in violation of state mandates. The presence of these frequently armed protesters could escalate already tense situations.

On May 1, 2020, when boogaloo activists organized a protest against coronavirus public safety measures in Raleigh, North Carolina, many attendees carried firearms in defiance of state laws prohibiting guns at public demonstrations. It was a scene played out across the country in recent weeks, as boogalooers are energized by resistance to lockdown restrictions, which they view as tyrannical government overreach. Boogaloo adherents have shown up at numerous lockdown protests, waving boogaloo signs, wearing Hawaiian shirts, and carrying firearms, sometimes illegally.

These boogalooers are part of an embryonic, decentralized movement that organizes largely online but whose presence has increasingly been felt in the real world. While boogaloo supporters hail from a variety of movements, and include some white supremacists who advocate for race war, the lockdown protests have largely featured the anti-government version of the boogaloo favored by the militia, gun rights, and anarcho-capitalist movements. This iteration holds that the American people are willing to respond with violence – even if it means sparking a civil war – to perceived government efforts to curtail their freedom.

As the backlash to the lockdown measures expands from state capitols to Main Streets nationwide, boogaloo advocates are talking openly about providing protection for local businesses determined to reopen in violation of state mandates. The presence of these frequently armed protesters could escalate already tense situations.

This potentially dangerous dynamic was on display during a May 4, 2020 standoff in West Odessa, Texas, when seven people – one of whom appears to follow some two dozen Facebook pages dedicated to the boogaloo – and a bar owner were arrested following a standoff with local law enforcement over lockdown rules. According to the Ector (Texas) County Sheriff, six of the protesters were carrying “AR-15 type weapons” and were charged with possessing firearms on a licensed property, while a seventh was charged with interfering with a peace officer’s duties. Following the incident, one boogaloo Facebook page shared images from the standoff and the comment, “Intent and willingness to give up everything for a moment of true violence in order to make a statement is the one barrier we need to cross as a community.”

Justifications for Violence and Hostility Towards Law Enforcement
Boogalooers rely heavily on humor, which makes their messaging more accessible and appealing, while also allowing them to underplay the more disturbing content as jest. Adherents often wear Hawaiian shirts, which, while not inherently extremist, reference a popular nickname for the boogaloo, the “Big