A group that since November is scheduled to hold armed rallies in Washington, DC, as well as at state capitols, plans to hold its events on Sunday, despite an unprecedented effort to reach the Capitol.
In the days since 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 vow the January 20th. The FBI warned the law this week on a group calling on its supporters to come to Washington, DC and the state capitals armed at their “personal discretion”
This particular call for armed protesters dates back to a November 24 post on a website called Tree of Liberty, an online forum for members of the Boogaloo extremist anti-government movement. The online pamphlet published that day noted that the “armed march on Capitol Hill and all the capitals of the state” it was scheduled for Jan. 17 and was intended to be peaceful, but encouraged participants to “come armed at your discretion.” In a follow-up published four days after riot police violated the Capitol (including some of those prosecutors say now wanted to hurt the vice president and other elected officials), the group wrote that its protest was in “pending state given the facts place “.
But in an email to CBS News Friday, a website administrator wrote that the group now intends to continue as planned. CBS News had contacted an email address that appeared on the Tree of Liberty website as the group’s press contact.
“The events of 1/17 will continue and there are security measures to ensure that nothing violent happens about the Boogaloo Boys. I cannot speak on behalf of the Proud Boys or MAGA and we made it clear that we would rather not see them,” he said. say the press contact, who was not identified. The Proud Boys are another group of supporters of President Trump’s far right.
The Anti-Defamation League, an advocacy group, describes the Boogaloo movement’s ideology as “primarily anti-government, anti-authoritarian and anti-police in nature.” Since 2019, members of the group have participated in “rallies on gun rights, pandemic restrictions and police-related killings,” according to the ADL.
The Justice Department described the Boogaloo movement as a “group of unconnected individuals advocating violent anti-government sentiments.” in a December 16, 2020 press release, announcing that a Boogaloo member had filed a plea guilty of conspiracy to provide material support to Hamas, designated as a terrorist organization by the United States government. Another member of the group has been charged in this case and filed a plea of not guilty.
In June 2020, a U.S. Air Force sergeant was arrested for the shooting death of a Federal Protection Services officer and an assistant sheriff from Santa Cruz, California. When he was arrested, investigators discovered slogans written in his own blood linking him to the Boogaloo movement, according to a federal complaint.
In the days leading up to the inauguration, about 25,000 troops will be stationed in and around the Capitol, along with patrols from the Washington, DC Metropolitan Police Department, Capitol Police and law enforcement from cities across the country. .
In the far-right forums and chats of Telegram, MeWe, and Discord (all popular platforms for extreme open debates and invitations only), users have been warned against participating in the Jan. 17 protests. Many have accused organizers of helping federal officials organize a “trap.”
The Freedom Tree administrator said the group has in fact been 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 choose anyone who plans to do anything violent and ensure that action is taken before the event,” they said.
“Don’t get me wrong, if I had the choice, I wouldn’t want to participate in law enforcement. I no longer have that option. They complied with me and now I comply or go to jail.” dit. “Doxxed” refers to a practice in which strangers post a person’s privately or personally identifiable information on the Internet in an attempt to encourage harassment.
The FBI declined to answer questions about the claim that its investigators have been in contact with Tree of Liberty.
A company hosting servers on the Tree of Liberty website closed it on Wednesday. Those trying to visit the site are automatically redirected to a YouTube page that plays a music video for “Never Gonna Give You Up” by Rick Astley.