The Origins Of The Extremist 'Boogaloo' Movement
Libertarian extremists known as the boogaloo bois are now linked with at least two murders. We look at the origins of the movement.
Guests
Cassie Miller, senior research analyst for the Southern Poverty Law Center. (@cassiepmiller)
Kathleen Belew, history professor at The University of Chicago. Author of “Bring the War Home: The White Power Movement and Paramilitary America.” (@kathleen_belew)
Justin Hansford, law professor and director of the Thurgood Marshall Civil Rights Center at Howard University Law School. (@Blackstarjus)
From The Reading List
Southern Poverty Law Center: “The ‘Boogaloo’ Started as a Racist Meme” — “Among the loose online network of adherents, the boogaloo is often presented as a race-blind call for armed insurrection against government tyranny.”
The Intercept: “How the Far-Right Boogaloo Movement Is Trying to Hijack Anti-Racist Protests for a Race War” — “Donald Trump is right. The anti-racism protests that have convulsed cities across the United States are also being used as cover, to quote the president, for ‘acts of domestic terror.'”
Vox: “The trope of ‘outside agitators’ at protests, explained” — “To hear some people — including public officials — tell it, ‘outside agitators’ have been playing an active role in protests over police brutality.”
New York Times: “What Do You Do When Extremism Comes for the Hawaiian Shirt?” — “It’s one of the most discussed street styles of the spring: tactical body armor, customized assault rifles, maybe a sidearm and helmet, paired with the languid floral patterns of a Hawaiian shirt.”
The Atlantic: “The Boogaloo Tipping Point” –“On May 29, two federal security officers guarding a courthouse in Oakland, California, were ambushed by machine-gun fire as elsewhere in the city demonstrators marched peacefully to protest the killing of George Floyd.”
The Guardian: “White supremacists or anti-police libertarians? What we know about the ‘boogaloo’” — “Men showing up to protests wearing Hawaiian shirts and carrying military-style rifles. Facebook groups full of intense discussions about imminent civil war.”
BBC News: “Facebook bans ‘violent’ Boogaloo-linked network” — “Facebook says it has removed and banned hundreds of accounts to disrupt a ‘violent, anti-government’ US network.”
This article was originally published on WBUR.org. [Copyright 2020 NPR]
