Read on Twitter
NEW: There's been a big proliferation of Facebook groups devoted to the "boogaloo," a term for civil war, during the pandemic.
Thousands of armed right-wing militants, mad at lockdown measures, are plotting & preparing for violence against the government https://www.huffpost.com/entry/boogaloo-facebook-pages-coronavirus-militia-group-extremists_n_5ea3072bc5b6d376358eba98
Thousands of armed right-wing militants, mad at lockdown measures, are plotting & preparing for violence against the government https://www.huffpost.com/entry/boogaloo-facebook-pages-coronavirus-militia-group-extremists_n_5ea3072bc5b6d376358eba98
A new @TTP_updates report has identified 125 Facebook groups devoted to boogaloo.
Over 60% of the groups were created in just the last three months, according to the report. The 125 groups have tens of thousands of members. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/boogaloo-facebook-pages-coronavirus-militia-group-extremists_n_5ea3072bc5b6d376358eba98
Over 60% of the groups were created in just the last three months, according to the report. The 125 groups have tens of thousands of members. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/boogaloo-facebook-pages-coronavirus-militia-group-extremists_n_5ea3072bc5b6d376358eba98
The potential for real-world violence by these Facebook groups came into focus earlier this week, when an boogaloo enthusiast live-streamed himself on Facebook driving around Texarkana, Texas, allegedly looking for a police officer to shoot and kill. https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/emmanuelfelton/boogaloo-boy-arrested-texarkana-swenson
That man, Aaron Swenson, had "liked" dozens of boogaloo pages on Facebook prior to the attempted attack. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/boogaloo-facebook-pages-coronavirus-militia-group-extremists_n_5ea3072bc5b6d376358eba98
“Facebook’s failure to stop their platform from being used as an organizing tool for extremists is completely unacceptable," @OkobojiDan told me. “Boogaloo proponents... are tactically planning how to defeat government entities.” https://www.huffpost.com/entry/boogaloo-facebook-pages-coronavirus-militia-group-extremists_n_5ea3072bc5b6d376358eba98
"By allowing these pages to exist, Facebook is demonstrating a clear unwillingness to protect the public from possible domestic terrorists," @OkobojiDan said. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/boogaloo-facebook-pages-coronavirus-militia-group-extremists_n_5ea3072bc5b6d376358eba98
One 133-page document uploaded to a boogaloo Facebook group involves instructions for how to disrupt/destroy U.S. government supply lines; discusses the possible need to assassinate officials; and lays out plans for propaganda. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/boogaloo-facebook-pages-coronavirus-militia-group-extremists_n_5ea3072bc5b6d376358eba98
