Boogaloo movement

For other uses of "Boogaloo", see Boogaloo (disambiguation).

Participants in the boogaloo movement often wear Hawaiian shirts along with military fatigues to identify themselves at protests such as this VCDL Lobby Day gun rights demonstration on January 20, 2020, in Richmond, Virginia.[1][2]
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The boogaloo movement, whose adherents are often referred to as boogaloo boys or boogaloo bois,[3] is a loosely organized far-right anti-government extremist movement in the United States.[4][5][6][7][8][9] It has also been described as a militia.[10][11][12] Adherents say they are preparing for, or seek to incite, a second American Civil War or second American Revolution which they call "the boogaloo" or "the boog".[13][14]

The movement consists of pro-gun, anti-government groups.[1][10] The specific ideology of each group varies and views on topics such as race differ widely.[13][15][16] Some are white supremacist[17][7][18][19] or neo-Nazi[19] groups who believe that the impending unrest will be a race war.[17][7][19] There are also groups that condemn racism and white supremacy,[10] although attempts by some individual elements of the movement to support anti-racist groups and movements such as Black Lives Matter have been met with wariness and skepticism, and researchers and journalists are unsure if they are genuine or meant to obscure the movement's actual objectives.[7][10][12][20]

The movement primarily organizes online, but adherents have appeared at in-person events including anti-lockdown and George Floyd protests. Heavily armed, boogaloo members are often identified by their attire of Hawaiian shirts and military fatigues.[1][21][22][23]

Boogaloo emerged on 4chan and subsequently spread to other platforms.[24][25][26] Although usage of the term dates back to 2012, the movement did not gain mainstream attention until late 2019.[1] Adherents use boogaloo, including variations so as to avoid social media crackdowns, to refer to violent uprisings against the federal government, often anticipated to follow government confiscation of firearms.[1][27][28]

Individuals affiliated with the boogaloo movement have been charged with crimes, including the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol; the murders of a security contractor and a police officer; a plot to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer; and incidents related to participation in the George Floyd protests.[29][30][20][31] In mid-2020, several companies acted to limit the movement's activities and visibility on their social media and chat platforms.[32][33]

  1. ^ a b c d e Zadrozny, Brandy (February 19, 2020). "What is the 'boogaloo'? How online calls for a violent uprising are hitting the mainstream". NBC News. Archived from the original on April 22, 2020. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
  2. ^ Goldenberg, Alex; Finkelstein, Joel (February 2020). Cyber Swarming, Memetic Warfare and Viral Insurgency: How Domestic Militants Organize on Memes to Incite Violent Insurrection and Terror Against Government and Law Enforcement (Report). The Network Contagion Research Institute. Archived from the original on April 22, 2020. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference SPLC-2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Charter-Times was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference Economist was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference Allam-NPR was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ a b c d Newhouse, Alex; Gunesch, Nate (May 30, 2020). "The Boogaloo Movement Wants To Be Seen as Anti-Racist, But It Has a White Supremacist Fringe". Middlebury Institute of International Studies. Archived from the original on June 3, 2020. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference Bellingcat was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference wapo-june30 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ a b c d Goggin, Benjamin; Greenspan, Rachel E. (June 3, 2020). "Far-right civil war accelerationists called the Boogaloo Bois are appearing at protests around the country with guns and Hawaiian shirts". Business Insider. Retrieved June 4, 2020.
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference Ellis-Wired was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ a b Newton, Casey (June 25, 2020). "The Boogaloo movement has successfully hijacked social networks to spread". The Verge. Archived from the original on June 26, 2020. Retrieved June 28, 2020.
  13. ^ a b Coaston, Jane (June 8, 2020). "The 'boogaloo' 'movement,' explained". Vox. Archived from the original on June 9, 2020. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
  14. ^ MacFarquhar, Neil; Gibbons-Neff, Thomas (June 16, 2020). "Air Force Sergeant With Ties to Extremist Group Charged in Federal Officer's Death". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on June 17, 2020. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
  15. ^ Ore, Jonathan (June 5, 2020). "How the Boogaloo movement rose from an internet joke to an armed movement in the U.S." CBC Radio. Archived from the original on June 7, 2020. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
  16. ^ Sottile, Leah (August 19, 2020). "Inside the Boogaloo: America's Extremely Online Extremists". The New York Times. Archived from the original on August 21, 2020. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
  17. ^ a b Charter, David (May 16, 2020). "'Boogaloo boys' prepare for next American civil war in Hawaiian shirts". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Archived from the original on May 28, 2020. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
  18. ^ "'Boogaloo Boy' Arrested in Texas, Charged With Plotting To Murder Cops on Facebook Live". Hatewatch. Southern Poverty Law Center. May 15, 2020. Archived from the original on May 30, 2020. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
  19. ^ a b c Barton, Gina (June 5, 2020). "Young white men with long guns at George Floyd protests likely affiliated with far-right group Boogaloo". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Archived from the original on June 5, 2020. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
  20. ^ a b Beckett, Lois (July 8, 2020). "White supremacists or anti-police libertarians? What we know about the 'boogaloo'". The Guardian. Archived from the original on September 16, 2020. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
  21. ^ Owen, Tess (May 29, 2020). "Far-Right Extremists Are Hoping to Turn the George Floyd Protests Into a New Civil War". Vice. Archived from the original on May 30, 2020. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
  22. ^ Truscott, Lucian K. (May 30, 2020). "A lynching without a rope has galvanized and divided America — and that's nothing new". Salon. Archived from the original on May 30, 2020. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
  23. ^ "What is the 'Boogaloo' movement?". Al Jazeera. June 5, 2020. Archived from the original on June 5, 2020. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
  24. ^ Lee, Dave (March 8, 2016). "Google hires creator of notorious 4chan forum". BBC News. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
  25. ^ Delgado, Henry Navarro (July 22, 2020). "Far-right 'boogaloo' movement is using Hawaiian shirts to hide its intentions". The Conversation. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
  26. ^ Sottile, Leah (August 19, 2020). "Inside the Boogaloo: America's Extremely Online Extremists". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 26, 2021.
  27. ^ "'Boogaloo Boy' Arrested in Texas, Charged With Plotting To Murder Cops on Facebook Live". Hatewatch. Southern Poverty Law Center. May 15, 2020. Archived from the original on May 30, 2020. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
  28. ^ Wilson, Jason (June 9, 2020). "Protesters across US attacked by cars driven into crowds and men with guns". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on June 9, 2020. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
  29. ^ Cite error: The named reference PrelimAssessment was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  30. ^ Read, Richard; Hennessy-Fisk, Molly; Chabria, Anita (January 8, 2020). "Far-right extremists want to attack more capitols, but are divided after D.C. riot". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 8, 2021.
  31. ^ Weill, Kelly (October 9, 2020). "Sixteen 'Boogaloo' Followers Have Been Busted in 7 Days". The Daily Beast. Archived from the original on October 10, 2020. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
  32. ^ Peters, Jay (June 5, 2020). "Facebook moves to limit spread of extremist 'boogaloo' pages and groups". The Verge. Archived from the original on June 6, 2020. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
  33. ^ Timberg, Craig; Dwoskin, Elizabeth; Mekhennet, Souad (June 3, 2020). "Men wearing Hawaiian shirts and carrying guns add a volatile new element to protests". Washington Post. Archived from the original on June 3, 2020. Retrieved June 3, 2020.