Member of far-right group charged with rioting at George Floyd protests
The Department of Justice on Friday charged a self-described member of a far-right organization, the Boogaloo Bois, with one count of participating in a riot. Ivan Harrison Hunter, 26, traveled from Texas to Minneapolis during civil unrest following the death of George Floyd, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Minnesota.
Federal investigators said they reviewed video from May 28 that showed Hunter discharging "13 rounds from an AK-47 style semi-automatic rifle into the Minneapolis Police Department's Third Precinct building," while people were believed to be inside the building. The department said law enforcement discovered shell cases consistent with an AK-47 style rifle outside the police department.
After returning to Texas, investigators said Hunter made numerous social media statements describing the acts of violence he engaged in during his time in Minneapolis.
The Boogaloo Bois is considered to be a loosely-connected group of members that espouses "violent anti-government sentiments," the department said in a statement. It said the term "Boogaloo" itself references an impending second civil war in the U.S. and is associated with "violent uprisings against the government."
On October 21, Hunter and two other men were arrested in San Antonio. When they stopped for multiple traffic violations, officers recovered "three semi-automatic rifles on the rear seat of the vehicle, one loaded pistol in plain view next to the driver's seat, another loaded pistol in the center console, and six loaded magazines for an AK-47 style assault rifle affixed to a tactical vest [Hunter] was wearing."
Investigators later discovered Hunter's connection with Steven Carrillo, a Boogaloo Bois member charged with the May 29 murder of a federal service officer, Sergeant Damon Gutzwiller, in Oakland, California.
Hunter's case was a part of a federal task force launched in June to combat violent anti-government extremism. On Thursday, he made his first court appearance in San Antonio.