COURT DOC: Superseding Indictment Charges “Boogaloo Bois” With Conspiracy, Material Support To Hamas, Firearms Violations

United States Attorney Erica H. MacDonald today announced a four-count superseding indictment charging MICHAEL ROBERT SOLOMON, 30, and BENJAMIN RYAN TEETER, 22, with conspiring and attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization (Hamas) and firearms violations. SOLOMON and TEETER, who were initially charged via federal criminal complaint on September 3, 2020, will be arraigned before a Magistrate Judge in U.S. District Court at a later date. SOLOMON and TEETER have been ordered to remain in detention pending further proceedings.

According to the superseding indictment and documents filed with the court, in late May of 2020, the FBI initiated an investigation into SOLOMON and TEETER, two members of the ‘Boogaloo Bois,’ and a sub-group called the ‘Boojahideen.’ The Boogaloo Bois are a loosely- connected group of individuals who espouse violent anti-government sentiments. The term ‘Boogaloo’ itself references an impending second civil war in the United States and is associated with violent uprisings against the government.

According to the superseding indictment and documents filed with the court, during the civil unrest in the Twin Cities following the death of George Floyd, according to a witness, SOLOMON was openly carrying a firearm in a residential neighborhood in Minneapolis. SOLOMON and TEETER interacted with the witness over the course of several days. The witness told FBI agents that SOLOMON and TEETER possessed firearms and substantial quantities of ammunition and that SOLOMON, TEETER, and other members of the Boogaloo Bois and Boojahideen discussed committing acts of violence against police officers and other targets in furtherance of the Boojahideens stated goal of overthrowing the government and replacing its police forces.

According to the superseding indictment and documents filed with the court, in early June, the FBI received information about SOLOMON, TEETER, and other members of the Boogaloo Bois and the Boojahideen through a confidential human source (CHS), whom the defendants believed to be a member of Hamas. In audio-recorded conversations, SOLOMON and TEETER expressed that Hamas shares anti-U.S. government views that align with their own views. SOLOMON and TEETER also expressed their desire to employ themselves as ‘mercenaries’ for Hamas as a means to generate cash for the Boogaloo Bois/Boojahideen movement, including funding for recruitment and purchasing land for a training compound. (Source: U.S. Department of Justice)