Two self-identified “Boogaloo Bois” who allegedly conspired to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization to harm the U.S. were taken into custody Thursday evening, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on Friday.
Michael Solomon, 30, of New Brighton, Minnesota and Benjamin Ryan Teeter, 22, of Hampstead, North Carolina, were charged with conspiring and attempting to provide material support to designated foreign terrorist group Hamas, the DOJ announced.
Solomon and Teeter allegedly “sought to join forces and provide support, including in the form of weapons accessories” to Hamas to harm the U.S.
The Boogaloo Bois are a “loosely- connected group of individuals who espouse violent anti-government sentiments,” according to the DOJ.
“This case can only be understood as a disturbing example of the old adage, ‘The enemy of your enemy is your friend,’” National Security Division Assistant Attorney General John C. Demers said, according to the DOJ.
“As alleged in the complaint, these defendants sought to use violence against the police, other government officials and government property as part of their desire to overthrow the government.”
Solomon and Teeter first appeared in court Friday in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and remaining custody pending their formal hearing scheduled for Sept. 9, according to the DOJ.
“Michael Solomon and Benjamin Teeter proclaim themselves to be members of the Boogaloo Bois, a group that espouses a violent ideology and an objective to overthrow the government,” U.S. Attorney Erica H. MacDonald said, according to the DOJ.
“The defendants believed their anti-U.S. government views aligned with those of Hamas, a foreign terrorist organization, and actively developed plans to carry out violence in Minnesota and elsewhere.”
Solomon and Teeter said that they shared aligning anti-government views with foreign terrorist group Hamas, according to the DOJ. They also expressed aspirations to become Hamas “mercenaries” to fund recruitment and a training compound for the Boogaloo Bois.
When Solomon and Teeter reportedly thought they were communicating with a senior member of Hamas, they were actually talking to an undercover FBI employee and expressed ideas to destroy government monuments and target politicians and journalists, according to the DOJ.
Solomon and Teeter also told the undercover agent that they were able to produce unmarked gun parts and unregistered weapons including suppressors, according to the DOJ. The two men thought the suppressors would be used to carry out attacks against Israeli and U.S. soldiers by Hamas.
The charges were filed as the result of the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force’s investigation, in which the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives assisted, according to the DOJ.
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