2020 boogaloo killings

In late May and early June 2020, two ambush-style attacks occurred against security personnel and law enforcement officers in California. The attacks left two dead and injured three others.

2020 boogaloo killings
Part of domestic terrorism in the United States
LocationOakland, California, U.S.
Ben Lomond, California, U.S.
DateOakland shooting: May 29, 2020
Santa Cruz County shootout: June 6, 2020 (PDT)
Attack type
Shooting, bombing, shootout
WeaponsRifle, improvised explosive devices
Deaths2
Injured4 (including one of the suspects)
MotiveRight-wing extremism
AccusedSteven Carrillo
Robert Justus

The attacks began on May 29, when a drive-by shooting occurred in front of a federal courthouse in Oakland, resulting in the death of a security officer contracted with the Federal Protective Service. Over a week later on June 6, Santa Cruz County sheriff's deputies were shot at and also attacked with improvised explosive devices; one of them died as a result.

U.S. Air Force sergeant Steven Carrillo was arrested soon after the second attack. A second suspect, Robert Justus, surrendered to authorities five days later. The FBI indicated that Carrillo was associated with the boogaloo movement, a loosely organized American far-right extremist movement whose participants say they are preparing for a second civil war.[1][2][3] Carrillo used the George Floyd protests as a cover to attack police officers, according to the FBI.[4] A white van owned by Carrillo contained a ballistic vest with a patch bearing boogaloo symbolism. Carrillo is alleged to have written "boog" and the phrase "I became unreasonable" (a popular meme among boogaloo groups) in his own blood on the hood of a vehicle he hijacked.[5] According to federal authorities, the suspects were motivated by the boogaloo movement's ideology, and allegedly intended to spread its extremist views and start a race war.[6][7]

Attacks

Oakland, California, shooting

At around 9:44 pm on May 29, 2020, an initially unknown assailant (later identified as Carrillo) fired a rifle out of the sliding door of a white van, striking security personnel stationed outside the Ronald V. Dellums Federal Building in Oakland, California.[8][9][10][11] Two Triple Canopy security officers contracted with the Federal Protective Service were shot, resulting in the death of David Patrick Underwood and the serious injury to the other.[12] The attack occurred during George Floyd protests in Oakland, but the two were not related.[13][9] Video surveillance later revealed that the van did not have license plates and had been in the area for at least half an hour. A man was seen exiting the driver's seat and walking around for 10 minutes before the attack.[14]

On October 23, 2020, the U.S. Attorney's Office in the District of Minnesota announced they had filed federal charges against another boogaloo adherent and alleged agent provocateur who had traveled from Texas to Minneapolis to participate in a George Floyd protest on May 27–28, 2020. In the indictment, he was alleged to have been in contact with Carrillo via text message, and to have texted Carrillo to instruct him to "Go for police buildings".[15] In response, Carrillo allegedly replied, "I did better lol", which prosecutors believe was a reference to killing Underwood blocks away from the unrelated Black Lives Matter protest.[15][16] The man also allegedly asked Carrillo for money, saying he needed "to be in the woods for a bit." Carrillo reportedly provided him with $200 via a cash app.[15]

Santa Cruz County, California, attack

On June 6, 2020, Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Department deputies arrived at Carrillo's residence, ten miles north of the city of Santa Cruz, California in Ben Lomond, California. In response, Carrillo allegedly fired at the deputies with an AR-15 style rifle, seriously injuring one deputy and killing Sheriff Sergeant Damon Gutzwiller.[14][17] Two nearby California Highway Patrol officers responded to the scene, and were met with gunfire, wounding one officer. Deputies and officers were also attacked with improvised explosive devices. During the shootout, Carrillo was hit and fled on foot to a nearby highway where he hijacked a car.[17] He abandoned the car minutes later.[18] According to the criminal complaint against him, Carrillo scrawled messages in his own blood on the hijacked car that said "I became unreasonable", "stop the duopoly", and "Boog".[17] Carrillo tried to take another car from where it was parked at a home, but was restrained by the homeowner and another civilian.[18] Carrillo was arrested in connection with the attack.[19][20]

Suspects

Steven Carrillo is a 32-year-old Air Force sergeant from Ben Lomond, California. He was on active duty at the Travis Air Force Base where he led the Phoenix Ravens,[14][21] an elite unit tasked with guarding American military personnel at unsecure foreign airfields.[4] He had worked at the base since 2018, though he had served in Kuwait for four months in 2019.[6] A former friend of Carrillo's told ABC News that Carrillo identified as a libertarian.[22]

Robert A. Justus Jr. is a 30-year-old man from Millbrae, California.[17]

Investigation

The FBI investigation of the Oakland shooting did not initially reveal a motive or a suspect.[23] By June 2, investigators believed the attackers were targeting uniformed officers.[24] An abandoned white van that held firearms, ammunition, and bomb-making equipment contained evidence that led to Carrillo's home in Ben Lomond. A ballistic vest found in the white van bore a patch with the boogaloo symbols of Hawaiian-style print and igloos.[17][14] At his home he opened fire on officers, was shot in the process, fled on foot, and hijacked a nearby car. He was later found and arrested, bleeding from his hip.[17] According to an official from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), a homemade machine gun with a silencer was used in the shootings. The weapon was a "ghost gun" and did not have a serial number.[25]

Acting Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security Ken Cuccinelli described the Oakland shooting as an "act of domestic terrorism".[26] The FBI announced on June 16 that Steven Carrillo was associated with the boogaloo movement and that he and Justus had deliberately chosen the night of protests in Oakland for cover for the May 29 attack. The FBI agent-in-charge of the investigation stated, "There is no evidence that these men had any intention to join the demonstration in Oakland. They came to Oakland to kill cops." Beforehand, Carrillo posted on Facebook, "Go to the riots and support our own cause. Show them the real targets" and "Use their anger to fuel our fire. Think outside the box. We have mobs of angry people to use to our advantage." The attack took place several blocks from a protest at Oakland City Hall.[27] A former friend of Carrillo's told interviewers, "Excessive use of force on unarmed civilians — that was a huge thing for him... It was a mental tipping point for him."[28] The hijacked car had "boog", "I became unreasonable", and "stop the duopoly" written in Carrillo's blood on the vehicle's hood.[14] "I became unreasonable" is a popular phrase in boogaloo memes, and is a quote from Marvin Heemeyer, the perpetrator of the 2004 "Killdozer" rampage in which he demolished several buildings over a zoning dispute.[29] "Stop the duopoly" is also a popular fixation among boogaloo adherents, referring to the dominance of the Republican and Democratic parties in American politics.[18]

Authorities linked the crimes to the boogaloo movement and said the men used recent demonstrations against racial injustice as a cover to attack law enforcement.[30] The FBI agent in charge of the investigation said in a news conference that the suspects did not appear to intend to join the protests, saying, "They came to Oakland to kill cops."[31]

Using a search warrant, the FBI investigated posts from Carrillo's Facebook account posted between May 28 and 29. One message read, "It's on our coast now, this needs to be nationwide. It's a great opportunity to target the specialty soup bois." (According to the FBI, "soup bois" may refer to federal law enforcement agents.) Another read, "Its kicking off now and if its not kicking off in your hood then start it. Show them the targets."[32]

Justus was declared a suspect in the Oakland shooting and placed under FBI surveillance. He turned himself in at the federal building in San Francisco five days after Carrillo's arrest.[14]

Carrillo was charged with 19 felonies, including murder and attempted murder. The charges carry lying in wait enhancements, making him eligible for the death penalty, though officials have not decided whether they will seek the death penalty in this case.[17][25] Carrillo's lawyer has contested statements about Carrillo by law enforcement, and stated that Carrillo was "left deeply shaken" by the suicide of his wife in 2018.[33] He also told the Santa Cruz Sentinel that Carrillo had experienced a traumatic brain injury in 2009.[6] On August 27, 2020, Carrillo pled not guilty to the murder charge for the sergeant killed in Santa Cruz.[34]

Justus is facing charges of aiding and abetting murder and aiding and abetting attempted murder.[14] He has pled not guilty to the charges.[18]

Reaction

Several conservative commentators inaccurately linked the Oakland shooting to the George Floyd protests that were occurring at the time.[35] Media Matters for America, a left-wing organization that monitors right-wing media, characterized right-wing coverage of Underwood's death as an attempt to "discredit the wider Black Lives Matter protests". Fox News anchor Eric Shawn spoke of the George Floyd protests, saying "we have been under attack from domestic terrorists," then reported Underwood's killing. Sean Hannity asserted Underwood was "murdered by rioters".[36] On June 1, then-President Donald Trump repeated the claim in a speech about the protests, saying, "A federal officer in California, an African American enforcement hero, was shot and killed. These are not acts of peaceful protest. These are acts of domestic terror."[35]

During his Republican National Convention speech on August 26, 2020, then-Vice President Mike Pence implied that Underwood had been killed by radical leftist activists at a Floyd protest that was also in Oakland.[37] Rebecca Kaplan, the City Councilmember At-Large for Oakland, California, denounced Pence's "deeply misleading statements" about the killing, saying, "Pence wrongly attempted to tie this killing to the Black Lives Matter movement, which, in fact, had no involvement in the killing... Mr. Underwood's tragic murder was not part of any demonstration, but an act of a violent, armed white supremacist... Pence's lies attempt to discredit important movements for social justice, and to move blame away from violent white supremacist murder."[38]

See also

References
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  2. "Why some protesters in America wear Hawaiian shirts". The Economist. May 23, 2020. ISSN 0013-0613. Archived from the original on May 28, 2020. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
  3. Allam, Hannah (January 10, 2020). "'Boogaloo' Is The New Far-Right Slang For Civil War". National Public Radio. Archived from the original on April 23, 2020. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
  4. "California Sheriff: Gunman 'Very Intent' on Killing Police". The New York Times. Associated Press. June 8, 2020.
  5. Zadrozny, Brandy; Collins, Ben; Blankstein, Andrew (June 11, 2020). "Man accused in deputy ambush scrawled extremist 'Boogaloo' phrases in blood". NBC News. Retrieved June 16, 2020.
  6. Shepherd, Katie (June 17, 2020). "An officer was gunned down. The killer was a 'boogaloo boy' using nearby peaceful protests as cover, feds say". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 21, 2020.
  7. Larson, Amy (June 17, 2020). "FBI documents describe motive of Santa Cruz deputy's accused killer and Boogaloo". KRON4. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
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  9. Nguyen, Daisy (June 1, 2020). "Officer killed near California protest identified; Ohio cop shooting was 'intentional', chief says". USA Today. Retrieved June 7, 2020.
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  13. Pane, Lisa Marie (June 2, 2020). "Retired officer, ex-college athlete among victims of unrest". Associated Press. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
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  15. Mannix, Andy (October 24, 2020). "Texas member of Boogaloo Bois charged with opening fire on Minneapolis police precinct during protests over George Floyd". Star Tribune. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
  16. "'Boogaloo' Suspect Steven Carrillo Pleads Not Guilty To Fatal Ambush Of Sheriff Sergeant In Santa Cruz Mountains". CBS SF BayArea. August 28, 2020. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
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  21. "Deputy killed, 2 other officers injured after being ambushed in Santa Cruz County". ABC7 Los Angeles. June 7, 2020.
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  23. Debolt, David (June 1, 2020). "Federal Protection Services officer killed in Oakland drive-by shooting identified". The Mercury News. Retrieved June 1, 2020.
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  29. Harms, Cathy (June 5, 2004). "Man who bulldozed through Colo. town is dead". MSNBC. Retrieved June 17, 2020.
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