ExtremismDHS Warns Boogaloo Bois May Be Targeting Washington, D.C.

On Friday, 19 June, the Trump administration circulated to law enforcement agencies around the country an intelligence assessment written on Monday, 15 June, by the National Capital Region Threat Intelligence Consortium(NTIC), a fusion center for Washington, D.C. The memo and the DHS cover letter which accompany it warned public safety officials that Boogaloo Bois, an extremist anti-government movement, may be targeting Washington, D.C. for violent attacks.

The intelligence assessment stated that “the District is likely an attractive target for violent adherents of the boogaloo ideology due to the significant presence of U.S. law enforcement entities, and the wide range of First Amendment-Protected events hosted here.”

The assessment was obtained by Politico. It reported that “recent events indicate violent adherents of the boogaloo ideology likely reside in the National Capital Region, and others may be willing to travel far distances to incite civil unrest or conduct violence encouraged in online forums associated with the movement.”

In the cover letter to security officials around the country, DHS notes that “while it identifies Washington D.C. as an attractive target, the boogaloo ideology is not restricted to a specific region and those who wish to cause division are routinely using peaceful protests as means of cover. Heading into a weekend of more planned protests, we believe this information to be useful to all of our membership.”

Politico reports that also on Friday, 19 June, DHS published its own, separate intelligence note assessing that “domestic terrorists advocating for the boogaloo very likely will take advantage of any regional or national situation involving heightened fear and tensions to promote their violent extremist ideology and call supporters to action.”

The 19 June intelligence note, also obtained by Politico, said it “provides information regarding some domestic terrorists’ exploitation of heightened tensions during recent First Amendment-protected activities in order to threaten or incite violence to start the ‘boogaloo’ — a colloquial term referring to a coming civil war or the fall of civilization.”

Several members of the boogaloo movement were arrested in recent weeks, facing charges ranging from murdering policemen in California to plotting terrorist attacks in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Mexico, Texas, and Colorado (for more on the boogaloo movement, see ““Boogaloo” Follower Charged with Killing Police Officer during BLM Protest,” HSNW, 17 June 2020).

The DHS note says boogaloo tactics “likely will be repeated in future similar incidents wherein domestic terrorists attempt to shut down or endanger government operations, judging from domestic terrorists’ continued calls for attacks.”

Politico notes that the NTIC intelligence assessment “is the first known government confirmation” which  suspected (in the memo’s own words) that “violent adherents of the boogaloo ideology” may reside in D.C. and have an abundance of potential targets. “These individuals may target law enforcement as violent adherents have in other parts of the country, and motivated adherents have an increased number of targets given the concentration of law enforcement agencies in the region,” the memo reads.

The NTIC assessment cites planning documents which boogaloo adherents exchanged and shared online, including military manuals, CIA handbooks, “and revolutionary literature which provides instructions on bomb-making.” The NTIC assessment further says that other documents shared by the boogaloos refer to National Guard depots, police stations, and factories that produce munitions as “very solid targets.”

Politiconotes that the NTIC and DHS intelligence assessments offer a strike contrast with the public statements of President Donald Trump and Attorney General William Barr, who emphasized acts of violence carried out during the Floyd protests by followers of the left-wing antifa movement. Trump and Barr have provided no evidence for such attacks.

“To date, no federal charges have been filed against individuals linked to antifa — violent acts at Black Lives Matter protests, including setting police cars on fire, have been attributed to individuals with no clear political or ideological affiliation, according to charging documents,” Politico writes.