Federal charges: 'Boogaloo Bois' member fired 13 rounds into 3rd Precinct during Minneapolis riots
Federal charges: Boogaloo Bois member fired 13 rounds into 3rd Precinct during Minneapolis riots
A self-described member of the anti-government extremist group the Boogaloo Bois is facing federal charges for allegedly firing 13 rounds into the Minneapolis Police Department’s Third Precinct during the civil unrest over the death of George Floyd in May.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - A self-described member of the anti-government extremist group the “Boogaloo Bois” is facing federal charges for allegedly firing 13 rounds into the Minneapolis Police Department’s Third Precinct during the civil unrest over the death of George Floyd in May.
Ivan Harrison Hunter, 26, of Boerne, Texas is charged with one count of participating in a riot, U.S. District Attorney for Minnesota Erica MacDonald announced Friday.
In late May, the FBI initiated an investigation into members of the Boogaloo Bois based on information that members were “discussing committing crimes of violence and were maintaining an armed presence on the streets of Minneapolis during the civil unrest following the death of George Floyd,” according to the criminal complaint.
The Boogaloo Bois are described in the criminal complaint as “a loosely-connected group of individuals who espouse violent anti-government sentiments. The term ‘Boogaloo’ references an impending second civil war in the U.S. and is associated with violent uprisings against the government.”
According to the criminal complaint, Hunter traveled from Texas to Minneapolis between May 27 and May intending to participate in a riot.
Federal agents reviewed a video taken during the unrest on May 28 which showed an individual, later identified as Hunter, discharging 13 rounds from an AK-47 style semiautomatic rifle into the Third Precinct while there were still some people inside the building. The shooter then walked toward the camera, high-fived another person and yelled “Justice for George Floyd!”
Upon returning to Texas, Hunter made statements on social media describing the violence he engaged in while in Minneapolis, according to the criminal complaint. He also posted photos of an AK-47 style assault rifle with distinctive floral-patterned magazine inserted into the weapon.
On June 3, Hunter was at a George Floyd protest in Austin, Texas, where police saw him and two other men wearing tactical gear and carrying rifles. After the three men got into a pickup truck and drove off, but were later pulled over for numerous traffic violations.
During the traffic stop, officers saw Hunter had six loaded magazines for an AK-47 style assault rifle affixed to his tactical vest while the two other men had AR-15 magazines affixed to their vests. Officers found an AK-47 style rifle and two AR-15 rifles on the rear seat of the vehicle plus one pistol in plain view next to the driver's seat and another pistol in the center console. The AK-47 was loaded with a magazine bearing the same floral pattern as the one in the photo Hunter posted on social media.
Hunter denied owning any of the weapons found in the vehicle, but told officers he was the leader of the Boogaloo Bois in south Texas and that he was present in Minneapolis when the Third Precinct was set on fire. Police seized the weapons, ammunition and drugs found in the truck, but released Hunter and the other two men from the scene.
Several days later, federal agents learned Hunter was affiliated online with another Boogaloo Bois member, Steven Carrillo, who was charged in California with murdering a federal officer.
Agents found Facebook messages between Hunter and Carrillo from before, during and after the Third Precinct building shooting and the murders in California.
In August, a source told the FBI that Hunter had admitted to them that he fired his AK-47 into the Third Precinct in Minneapolis, helped set the building on fire and participated in the looting.
After learning of the federal arrest another admitted Boogaloo Bois member, Benjamin Teeters, in Minneapolis in September, the source told the FBI that Hunter became angry and threatened to start “killing people” in retaliation, the criminal complaint reads. He referred to federal agents in derogatory terms and said it was “time to start shooting.” He also allegedly said he would “go down shooting” if law enforcement came to arrest him or his friends.
Teeter and another Boogaloo Bois member, Michael Solomon, have since been charged by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Minnesota with conspiring to work with a foreign terrorist organization as part of a plot to overthrow the U.S. government in the aftermath of George Floyd’s death.
Hunter was arrested in San Antonio, Texas on Wednesday and made his first appearance in federal court on Thursday.