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A group that has been planning since November to hold armed rallies in Washington, DC, as well as state capitals, intends to conduct its events on Sunday, despite an unprecedented effort to secure the Capitol.
In days when supporters of President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol in a violent riot that left five dead, officials have installed a massive security apparatus around the complex, where President-elect Joe Biden will be sworn in. January 20. The FBI warned the law. application this week about a group calling on its supporters to come to Washington, DC and the capitals of the armed states at their “personal discretion.”
This particular appeal to armed protesters dates back to a November 24 post on a website called Tree of Liberty, an online forum for members of the extremist anti-government movement Boogaloo. The online leaflet published that day stated that the “Armed March on Capitol Hill and all state capitals” was scheduled for January 17 and was meant to be peaceful, but encouraged participants to “come armed at their discretion.” In a follow-up released four days after rioters raped the Capitol – including some who prosecutors said intended to harm the vice president and other elected officials – the group wrote that its protest was underway. “expectation” given the events that have taken place. place.”
But in an email to CBS News on Friday, a website administrator wrote that the group now intends to continue as planned. CBS News had contacted an email address listed on the Tree of Liberty website as the group’s press contact.
“The events of 1/17 will continue and safeguards are in place to ensure that nothing violent will happen regarding the Boogaloo Boys. I cannot speak for the Proud Boys or the MAGAs, and we have made it clear that we would rather not see them there, “said the press contact, who did not identify himself. The Proud Boys are another group of far-right supporters of President Trump.
The Anti-Defamation League, a rights group, describes the ideology of the Boogaloo movement as “essentially anti-government, anti-authority and anti-police in nature.” Since 2019, members of the group have participated in “rallies around gun rights, pandemic restrictions and police-related killings,” according to the ADL.
The Department of Justice described the Boogaloo movement as a “group of loosely connected individuals who espouse violent anti-government sentiments” in a December 16, 2020 press release announcing that a member of Boogaloo pleaded guilty to conspiring to provide material support to Hamas, a designated terrorist organization by the US government. Another member of the group was indicted in this case and has pleaded not guilty.
In June 2020, a U.S. Air Force sergeant was arrested for the shooting death of a Federal Protective Services officer and a sheriff’s deputy in Santa Cruz, California. Upon his arrest, investigators discovered slogans written in his own blood that linked him to the Boogaloo movement, according to a federal complaint.
In the days leading up to the inauguration, approximately 25,000 troops will be stationed in and around the Capitol, alongside patrols from the Washington, DC Metropolitan Police Department, Capitol Police, and law enforcement in cities across the country. .
In far-right discussions and forums on Telegram, MeWe and Discord – all popular platforms for open and invitation-only extremist discussions – users have warned against participating in the January 17 protests. Many accused organizers of helping federal officials set up a “trap.”
The Tree of Liberty administrator said the group was in fact in contact with federal law enforcement, despite its anti-government ideology.
“We have made it very clear that we are working with the authorities to select anyone who is considering doing something violent and to ensure that they intervene before the event,” they said.
“Don’t get me wrong, if I had a choice, I wouldn’t want to be involved in law enforcement. I don’t have that option anymore. I was doxxed, and now I comply or go to jail. , “they told me. “Doxxed” refers to a practice in which a person’s private or personal identifying information is posted on the Internet by strangers for the purpose of encouraging harassment.
The FBI declined to answer questions about the claim that its investigators had contact with Tree of Liberty.
A company that hosted servers for the Tree of Liberty website shut it down on Wednesday. Those who attempt to visit the site are now automatically redirected to a YouTube page that plays a video clip of Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up”.
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