Following the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, protests erupted all over the nation. With fires, looting, and tear gas flooding the streets, it has slowly become difficult to identify where the destruction and chaos was coming from—and the racist group the “Boogaloo Bois” are using that to their advantage.
Claims that Black Lives Matter supporters or citizens of Minneapolis were the causes of the escalation in civil unrest have been disproven after a member of the “Boogaloo Bois” was charged in connection with certain riots in Minneapolis. According to the Star Tribune, on October 23, the 26-year-old Texas native Ivan Hunter was charged for interstate travel to incite a riot after Facebook messages and social media posts surfaced, revealing plans to incite further chaos during the protests. The member of the alt-right radical group allegedly shot 13 rounds into the Minneapolis police headquarters while people were inside, as well as helped set a building on fire and loot in hopes that his actions would be pinned on those protesting the death of George Floyd.
Hunter refers to himself as a homegrown “terrorist,” and was adamant about “going down shooting,” as he is the leader of the South Texas chapter of the Boogaloo Bois. He is the third member of the group to be charged in Minneapolis following the unrest during the summer.
