Authorities charge far-right extremists with attacking police at Black Lives Matter protests

The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports:

In the wake of protests following the May 25 killing of George Floyd, a member of the Boogaloo Bois opened fire on the Minneapolis Police Third Precinct with an AK-47-style gun and screamed "Justice for Floyd" as he ran away, according to a federal complaint made public Friday.

A sworn affidavit by the FBI underlying the complaint reveals new details about a far-right anti-government group's coordinated role in the violence that roiled through civil unrest over Floyd's death while in police custody.

There's more details at the link.

As protests against police brutality spread across the country this summer, there was of course a lot of debate and hand-wringing about who was responsible for the rest (besides the instigating police in riot gear specifically trained to cause chaos and panic). Was it formally-organized dues-paying members of Antifa? Was it proof that all Black Lives Matter protesters actually believed in property damage above all else, as many right-wing pundits suggested?

Many sources pointed to evidence that far-right extremists — particularly the Boogaloo Bois — were likely responsible for the accelerationist agitation at many of these events. Increasingly, this is being confirmed.

Unfortunately, these far-right extremist were also successful in their PR campaign to shift the conversation.

Texas member of Boogaloo Bois charged with opening fire on Minneapolis police precinct during protests over George Floyd [Andy Mannix / Minneapolis Star-Tribune]

Image via Public Domain