All language subtitles for Fringe.Nation.S01E02.1080p.WEB.h264-BAE

-I see I got my boys here
in Hawaiian shirts.

Hey, officers,
that means boogaloo.

[ Cheering ]

-They said they gonna kill
every last one

of these black motherfuckers.

So if they shoot us,
they gonna shoot you, too.

[ All grunt ]

-Militias across
the political spectrum

are taking to the streets,

sharing an intense support
of the Second Amendment

and a vast online presence.

-There is a strong
anti-government push right now

on both the left and the right.

-They are both essentially
arguing that the only way

to protect what we perceive
to be our rights

is through our own armed,
mobilized resistance.

[ Gunshots ]

-You have an all-consuming,

very American umbrella brand
of terror

that's been devised, largely,
and grown on social media.

-There are too many guns
at these events

held by too many groups
with conflicting roles.

There is a potential
street war brewing.

-These militias are taking up
arms, demanding justice,

and some are even waiting for
or plotting

what they call
the next American Revolution.

[ Cheering ]

-If you don't do something
about it soon,

you see all of this?

They gonna burn this bitch
to the ground, okay?

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

-Hey, if you're with the Second
Amendment rights movement,

we're about to start
speaking right here.

So if you will, make your way
down this direction.

Thank you.

I see I got my boys here
in the Hawaiian shirts.

You know...
- Hell, yeah!

[ Cheering ]

-Here we go!

And everybody knows
what that means.

Hey, officers,
that means boogaloo.

-Hell, yeah!

[ Cheering ]

-This is Mike Dunn.

He's a rising star

in what's known
as the boogaloo movement,

an emerging militia
which is planning

for a literal civil war
in the U.S.

-We want a revolution.

We want laws to be changed

in this country
that limit our rights.

-This group
of modern militiamen,

mostly fueled by guys under 25,

seems to be multiplying
not just online,

but at big gatherings,
like this July 4th

Second Amendment rally
in Richmond, Virginia.

-I sat here, I got doxed.

I've had death threats
for what I believe in.

I joined the Marine Corps
at 17 years old.

[ Indistinct shouting ]

Yeah, Semper Fi, Devil Dogs.

Now I'm trying to serve

in the best capacity
that I can serve.

-Mike says he was medically
discharged from the Marines

after serving a year,

then after a brief stint
as a prison guard, he was fired.

While he says
he wasn't given a reason,

we know he was involved
in local militias

and over time became
more critical of the government,

his former employer.

-How old are you?

Alright, so I am a kid.

-And he's only 19.

-What is the boogaloo movement?

-The boogaloo movement can mean
a lot of different things

to a lot of different people.

I'm not gonna answer
for everybody.

I'm definitely seen
as a representative

of the movement right now.

-A leader, even?

-We don't have a leader,

but we have representatives
from every state.

We're not as organized
as we want to be,

but we're developing a strategy
to organize ourselves better.

-Before he aligned himself
with the boogaloo movement,

Mike was busy holding trainings
in rural Virginia.

We met him last February

where he was organizing
hundreds of people

to join the Virginia Knights,

a non-boogaloo statewide militia
he formed

in response to
gun-control legislation

introduced by the state's
newly elected Democrats.

-I... state your name...

[ Indistinct talking ]

do hereby solemnly swear
that I will support and defend

the Constitution
of the United States

against all enemies,
foreign and domestic.

- against all enemies,
foreign and domestic.

-Now, eight months later,
Mike has gone full boogaloo.

-We want the government to know
that we're sick of the elitist.

We're sick of being controlled.

-The word "boogaloo"
comes from the movie

"Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo,"

a very '80s cult classic
with lots of killer dance moves

and a 29% rating
on Rotten Tomatoes.

-It was absolutely panned
by critics,

and so it was such a bad sequel
that any bad sequel

became termed a boogaloo.

And the boogaloo, the bad sequel
that they're trying to incite,

is a second civil war.

-The term "boogaloo,"
is it fair to say that it refers

to a future civil war
in our country?

- No. It refers to a revolution.
- That's what a lot of people...

Okay. What's the difference?
- Not a civil war.

There is a difference.

Civil war is a war
between the people.

A revolution is a war between
the people and the government.

-But, like, what does that mean?

Bring war against,
like, senators

and, like, police officers?

Literally,
what does that look like?

-I'm not gonna comment on that.

That can get me
in a lot of trouble.

-The boogaloo
came out on social media,

and it doesn't have
an old mythology addressing it.

It's a simple idea.
There's gonna be an insurgency.

It's that simple.

And it's, like, apocalyptic
but also comical.

So it has a very broad appeal.

-The boogaloo started as
an Internet joke back in 2012.

And then in 2019, it really
started becoming an ideology.

And then 2020,
after Duncan Socrates Lemp,

a buddy of mine,
was murdered in Maryland,

it really caught fire.

-That's a name you'll hear a lot
from these guys... Duncan Lemp.

The details of his death
are disputed.

But what we know is this.

Officers executed a high-risk
no-knock warrant on him

in the middle of the night
and fatally shot him.

Lemp was prohibited
from having firearms.

Officers found rifles
and handguns in his home.

Lemp is now a martyr
for the movement,

similar to how
Black Lives Matter

memorializes Breonna Taylor when
protesting police brutality.

How did Duncan Lemp's death
affect you?

-It broke me and it showed me
how far our government's

willing to go
to silence the people.

-Had you spent time
with him personally?

-Not directly.

Our entire friendship
was through social media.

-As their online presence
seemed to grow,

authorities started
cracking down on Facebook pages

that used the word "boogaloo."

So they started using
similar-sounding phrases

like "big igloo" or "big luau,"
hence the Hawaiian shirts.

-You know, there's some people
who are in it for the gags,

probably people who are in
college age or a little older

posting memes...
Shit posting, as they say.

And then there are core people

who usually have something
of a military background

or at least romanticize
upon a military background

who are actually showing up
in training groups

across the country.

♪♪

-Mike's invited us to join
his military training today.

As people slowly trickled
into the parking lot,

Mike encouraged us
to meet Isaiah.

He was clearly aware
of the optics.

Usually when I roll up
to these militia trainings,

it's a small group
of heavily armed white guys.

Today, it's looking
a little bit different.

-Originally,
when I first came to it,

I was the first black member.

We're building that bridge
between white America

and black America carrying guns.

-Have fun.

-[ Laughs ] Alright.

♪♪

-Alright, this is a Glock 19.

Some people don't like Glocks.
Some people do.

I personally do.
- Okay.

-Whenever you're racking a round
or chambering a round,

you keep it pointed at the
ground away from everybody else,

not at your feet.

Now what I'm gonna show you
is the AR-15, okay?

-One of the things
to keep in mind

is that, like,
a lot of the people here

are not currently
a part of the boogaloo movement.

They've come here to get the
training and just to learn more.

Oh, thanks.
- It is loaded.

But there's not one
in the chamber.

Don't pump it.

Or if you squeeze the trigger,
it'll go off.

- Okay.
- Yeah.

It's just a sweet little toy.

I wasn't planning
to carry a gun today,

but didn't exactly
seem like an option.

I think it's interesting
that you work for the sheriff

when, like, a lot
of the messaging

is kind of anti-law enforcement.

-A lot of... What people
don't realize is local sheriffs

are for gun control.

I'm in the process
of leaving now.

- Because of this?
- Yes.

-Once we get up there,

you're gonna take
your target to the left, okay?

Do not shoot me.

Alright. Moving.

Targets right.
- Right.

-Engage.

[ Gunshots ]

I think we need to get her
in the next one.

You're in with the next one.

Alright, they can run,
and then we'll run with you.

-Okay.

- Ready?
- Yeah.

[ Gunshots ]

Back to safety.

That felt good.

Whoo!

Anyone know how anyone did?

-Across the state of Virginia,
we've been involved with

and trained around 4,000 people.

-So that's like 500,
600 people a month.

-Yes, correct.
We do a lot of training.

-It's hard to verify
how real these numbers are,

especially when there are
maybe 20 people at a training

and then thousands
in a Facebook group.

Today, these two budding militia
members are making it official.

They're getting sworn in.

It also seems like
a good opportunity

to show their diversity again.

-So these two want to swear in.

So I'm gonna have you swear
her and her husband in.

I think that shows
the most diversity.

-Okay.
Alright, state your full name.

-I, Alicia Moore...

-Do hereby solemnly swear...

- do hereby solemnly swear...

- to preserve the limitations...

- to preserve the limitations...

- placed upon the government
by the Constitution.

- by the Constitution.

-This all seems
relatively harmless,

but in other pockets
of the movement, it's not.

In May of this year,
a self-proclaimed Boogaloo Boi

reportedly ambushed federal
security officers unprovoked

outside a courthouse in Oakland.

-They say he used
a homemade machine gun

in both of these killings.

-He was charged with the murder
of Damon Gutzwiller,

a young father
whose wife was pregnant

with their second child.

Investigators later found an
arsenal with a boogaloo patch

and the word "boog" written
in blood on the hood of a van.

He pled not guilty.

Okay, so before this interview,
we were talking about

the two guys who fired

on federal officers
in Oakland, right?

- Yeah.
- Those are dudes who are,

like, self-proclaimed
boogaloo guys.

-But did the organization
claim them?

I'm saying that in any type
of organization you have,

you're gonna have somebody
do something stupid.

But we're not known
for doing something stupid.

-In order to understand
if these guys

are actually violent extremists
or just meme-loving jokesters,

you first have to understand

their apparent obsession
with guns.

I grew up with guns.

I'm not someone who sits here
and says they shouldn't exist.

Why do you have to fight

for something
that is already your right?

-Because we feel the government
is infringing on it.

When any right starts
to be infringed upon,

when any peace is taken away,

you have a 99% right,
you have a 98% right.

Right now we're probably
at like a 30% right.

With all... I mean, we...
- 30%?

-How many... How many...
How many gun laws are there

across the United States?

-Gun-control activists
on the other side

feel like they are fighting
a losing battle every day.

-Good. I'm glad.
I hope they do feel that way.

-Okay, let's talk about your
belief in limited government.

-Yes, I believe
in extremely limited government.

-So what exactly does that mean?

-Almost little to no direct
governmental involvement

in my everyday life.

If I want to build a shed
on my property without a permit,

I can build that shed.

If I want to buy a firearm
I want to buy

and have it on my property,
I can have it.

Too much taxes.
We're taxed too much.

-Alright, what about,
like, the Postal Service?

Can we keep that?

-So once again,
I go back to saying

I believe in limited government.
- Yeah.

-A lot of aspects of government
need to be changed,

and a lot of things
in government

I think shouldn't exist.

♪♪

-While the Boogaloo Bois
represent the new guard

of American militias,

a lot of these refrains
are familiar.

I heard the almost verbatim
argument five years ago

in Colorado, Nevada, and Arizona

while documenting
the Three Percenter movement.

While the Boogaloo Bois
are taking off now,

their central message
is not new.

-If you are a politician
wanting to sell out my freedoms

and my liberty,
you are my enemy, end of story.

-But do I believe
we have total freedom

or the freedom that our
forefathers intended us to have?

No, not at all.

-The well-armed population

that makes being a tyrannical
government dangerous.

-I see the majority of America's
government as a tyrant.

-The original intent
of the Second Amendment

was that the American citizen
would be as armed

as the government itself.
- Go!

-If they come to my house
and knock on my door

and say they're gonna
take weapons,

then I'm gonna give them
my ammunition first.

- Meaning you'll shoot them.
- I will.

-The source of this messaging

doesn't start
with these modern militias.

It dates back to just after
the Vietnam War.

Kathleen Belew, an expert
on right-wing extremism

and white power movements,
says militia activity

was perfectly positioned
to take off then,

when, like today,
anti-government sentiments

were on the rise.

-So the '80s are a really
significant period

for this movement
because so many different groups

that have previously been
at odds with each other

were able to use the aftermath
of the Vietnam War

to come together and to become
very anti-government

and dedicated to the overthrow
of the nation

in a way that they simply
had never been before.

-Ruby Ridge, Idaho,

that's a hard place
to find on a map

and, as it turns out, an even
harder place to find answers.

-In the early 1990s,
there were two major events

that really galvanized
the white power movement.

One was the siege
and apprehension

of a white separatist family
at Ruby Ridge, Idaho, in 1992.

And the other was
the very violent end

of the Waco siege
in Texas in 1983.

-In the 1980s,
Randy Weaver and his family

settled in Ruby Ridge, Idaho,
having moved from Iowa.

They were a family of
Christian identity practicing,

white supremacist sympathizers
who moved to Idaho

to escape what they perceived to
be the coming likely apocalypse.

-The feds had their eye on him.

At one point,
a federal informant asked Weaver

to sell him illegal shotguns
at an Aryan Nation meeting.

Weaver was charged but didn't
show up for his hearing.

He and his family were in hiding
in Ruby Ridge, Idaho,

when U.S. Marshals initiated
an 11-day standoff.

-It involved the deaths
of several people in a shootout,

but it happened
in a very remote location.

-Waco was different.

The Branch Davidians were a
multiracial religious community

led by David Koresh.

Heavily armed and apocalyptic,

their standoff with
the government ended

with more than 80
Branch Davidians

and four federal agents dead.

What made these events similar,
though,

is that they fueled
the narrative

that the government would use
its power to kill citizens.

-One of the people who actually
visited the site

of the standoff
during the standoff

was a young man from New York
named Timothy McVeigh.

And it's one of the steps
on his path to radicalization

before the Oklahoma City
building.

-The Oklahoma City bombing
on April 19, 1995,

was a massive truck bomb.

It killed 168 people.

Within that casualty count
are 19 children

who died in the daycare center
of the building.

-The bombing at Oklahoma City
was not the result

of a specific militia act.

So as the politics evolved,
as the movement evolved,

eventually people saw the brink
and they stepped back.

-In the wake of this domestic
terrorist attack,

militia groups split
and numbers dwindled.

The movement seemed to be
going away

until the election
of President Barack Obama.

Starting in 2008,
militias multiplied.

It was a clear backlash

to the historic progressive
election of President Obama.

-Some of it's related
to the fact

with the Tea Party
and the birthers

and the populist response
to the 2008 movement,

that, in fact, there was this
percolating anger out there.

-Impeach Obama!

-So when you have
the economic collapse

following the housing crisis
of 2008,

people all over the world
took on the idea

that there was
some elite population

that was destroying our country.

-You've been ridiculed.
You've been mocked.

You've been slandered
by the left.

Still, though, you didn't let

big government-loving
professional politicians

tell you to sit down
and shut up.

Instead, no, you didn't retreat.

You reloaded.
You came out even stronger.

And you turned
this country around.

-It amplified and increased the
amount of anger and frustration

among people.

♪♪

-The two most prominent national
militias born out of this time

were the Oath Keepers
and the Three Percenters,

both umbrella groups that
encourage local chapters

to recruit,
promote uniform messaging,

and hold
military-style trainings

like the ones I went to in 2014.

-So the Oath Keepers,
former law enforcement,

former military
who all come together

and say, "Yes, we promise
to defend the real Constitution

as opposed to the way
the federal government

may actually enforce it."

The Three Percenters,
who operate under the principle

that during
the American Revolution,

only 3% of Americans
ever rallied to the cause.

So 3% of Americans
can do it today.

Today, with groups
like the boogaloos

and other kinds of things,

we're almost seeing,
like, flash mob militias.

-There are intersections
that are important to understand

between pre-existing militias

and the emergence
of the boogaloo.

There's an age gap
between the people

who are kind of more
boogaloo-oriented,

which are people
in usually their 20s, 30s.

The Oath Keepers and, to a
lesser extent, Three Percenters

tend to be a bit
of an older crowd.

Nevertheless, you can see
a lot of Oath Keepers

wearing the...
The boogaloo outfits, right?

They think it's pretty cool.

Initially, there's suspicion
and resentment.

Increasingly, because of the
broad nature of the boogaloo,

there's a reluctant acceptance

that this is going to be
the McDonald's brand.

-And that brand potentially
has a big market to tap into,

considering the federal
government isn't very popular

across the political spectrum
right now.

-They are both essentially
arguing that the only way

to protect what we perceive
to be our rights

is through our own armed,
mobilized resistance

and that those groups
are therefore, I think,

symptoms of some of the concerns
we have in our society

about what justice looks like

and about what freedom
looks like

and about whether or not
the state as an institution

is sufficiently neutral

that we can all participate
in it together.

-I spent a lot of time
with Three Percenters,

Oath Keepers,
guys, for the most part,

who were like 20, 30 years older
than you.

-Yeah, Fudds.

- Fudds?
- Yeah.

-Okay, I don't know...
What is that?

-So a Fudd is somebody
who is like a casual gun owner.

They'll do a lot of talk

and they'll do a lot of typing
on Facebook.

But when it gets down to getting
down and dirty out here,

they're not really
going to do that so much.

-How are you guys different?

-We're actually doing stuff.

I mean, I stood outside
the Capitol on July 4th

and made sure three firearms
got sold

without any type
of background check on them.

We're actually getting out there
and sticking to our guns

regarding not complying with
any unconstitutional gun law.

[ Indistinct chanting ]

-Certainly not everyone in
the militia movement in the 90s

was part
of the white power movement,

but almost all of the
white power movement activism,

activity, guns,
weapons, resources

end up inside of
the militia movement.

My sense from the history

is that what's happening
with boogaloo is very similar.

Boogaloo seems to be generating

from a lot
of white power sources,

but it also seems
to be much broader

and to include some people
that don't share that same set

of ideological propulsions.

-Hey, let's get a chant going.
You know what?

Everybody wants to chant.

We're gonna chant,
"White supremacy sucks."

You got it. Alright. Ready?
Ready? I'm gonna lead it.

White supremacy sucks!

-White supremacy sucks!

-There's a strong
anti-government push right now

on both the left and the right.

That doesn't mean
that those groups

really have
the true commonalities

that would allow them to
come together in one movement.

But what it does mean
is that there is a way

that sometimes the right is able

to opportunistically mobilize
parts of the left

for its own purpose

and occasionally,
perhaps even vice versa.

-Experts say that
the Boogaloo Bois

are capitalizing on the most
visible social movement

in our country right now...
Black Lives Matter.

-Breonna Taylor!

Breonna Taylor!

-Katie Paul tracks how boogaloo
boys communicate on Facebook.

While monitoring
private exchanges,

she found that after
Ahmaud Arbery,

a young black man, was brutally
murdered in Georgia,

militia members
weren't mourning his death

or outraged by the racism
that motivated it.

-You can see the first sentence
here is sharing this article

saying, "Good recruiting
opportunity here."

-And this is like
a young white guy

who's part of the Boogaloo Bois.
- Correct.

This is where the
Black Lives Matter supporters

who are being courted
by this movement

need to really understand

they're being used
as recruiting opportunities,

not as brothers in support
of this movement.

-Breonna Tyler
was a young woman.

She had beliefs that might have
been different from y'all.

But one thing she was subject to

was what we call
red flag gun laws.

-What do you say
to people who say

you're just capitalizing
on BLM's momentum?

-Well, ask what is... what is

a lot of your far-left
people doing?

They're capitalizing
on BLM's momentum.

I'm capitalizing on the fact
that a lot of them

are against big government
and I'm against big government.

Am I capitalizing
on the movement? No.

But am I helping people realize
what we're facing in government?

Yes.

-So, like, anybody
can join your boogaloo?

-Yeah! Whoo!

Hey, you want to walk with us?

[ Cheering ]

-Given that militias are
historically anti-government,

support from
elected officials is rare,

but Republican state senator
Amanda Chase is an exception.

She's running for governor
and agreed

to speak at this July 4th
Second Amendment rally.

-How's everybody doing?

[ Cheering ]

Awesome.

Listen, we're...
It's Towanda, right?

- No, it's Kiawana.
- Kiawana.

Come over here, Kiawana.

Kiawana and I just became
really good friends.

Do you know why?

Because we believe souls
don't know a color.

- At all.
- That's right. Yeah!

-Militias like the Boogaloo Bois
and that movement,

online, there's a lot
of violent rhetoric.

What do you say to them,

particularly when many
of them support you?

-We have people who support us
of all different backgrounds.

And we would never,
as an elected official,

say, "Oh, you,
don't support me."

You know, that just
doesn't make any sense.

We would never do that.

-When you show up to this
Second Amendment rally,

do you worry in any way
that that gives credibility

to a movement that could be
perpetuating violence

against government officials?

-I do not support violence
of any type

toward elected officials.

The Second Amendment
is a unifier,

whether you're the... what'd you
call them... the Boogaloo Bois,

whether you're BLM.

The Second Amendment is actually
bringing people together

of all walks of life,
all different backgrounds.

-It is bringing people together

and seems to be
fueling movement.

Joel Finkelstein
uses machine learning

to analyze boogaloo comments
on message boards like 4chan.

He says the boogaloo mythology
exists in two spheres.

One pushes racist messaging,
the other distinctly avoids it.

-The myth has a lot of diversity

in terms of the kinds of
elements it can attract to it.

K is a board on 4chan
for weapon enthusiasts

and militia enthusiasts,

but it isn't thought of

as a kind of racist community
inherently.

You have discussions
of bandits, ambushes, gunfights,

whereas in places like 4chan's

politically incorrect
message board, or pol,

here you have people
who are far more motivated

by identity politics and racism.

And right next
to the term "boogaloo,"

you have the appearance
of "race war."

You have "RaHoWa,"
the holy race war.

So these are really very
different strands of activity.

And we can see that...
That, in some sense,

it's like the virus mutates
from community to community,

has slightly different features.

Does that make sense?

-Problem with the Boogaloo Bois

is they're not
a cohesive movement.

You can have Boogaloo Bois
that are white supremacists

and want to harm
the George Floyd protesters.

You can also have
Boogaloo Bois...

And this is actually the larger
group... that are anti-police,

not racist, and they are siding
with the protesters.

-JJ MacNab is one
of the top experts

on anti-government extremism
in the country

and recently testified in front

of the House
Homeland Security Committee.

-So just being able to see
the Hawaiian shirt,

you can't really prejudge
why that person's there

and what they want
to accomplish.

-And given its lack
of clear ideology,

researchers are concerned
that the boogaloo movement

can encompass anyone with
an anti-government gripe,

no matter how dangerous.

Can you give us an idea
of scale?

How many people are a part
of this movement?

-I don't know.

On Facebook alone,
within four days,

we built a group
of 67,000 members.

- Holy shit.
- Within four days.

We say that it got Zuck'd,
Zuckerberg'd,

when it gets shut down
because of association

with the boogaloo movement.

-That's been happening a lot
lately

-Yes.

-In fact, Mike told us

that a week after this
interview, he got Zuck'd.

When he tried to create
a new profile,

he got Zuck'd again and again.

Mark Zuckerberg is cracking down
amid mounting pressure.

So the Boogaloo Bois
have to get creative

in order to stay online.

One way they do that
is to pretend to be media

because they know Facebook
won't shut down those pages.

-They've also started
using VICE News

for the groups that they mimic.

And because they have
a fiesta theme,

they've taken the VICE logo
and put tacos over it.

-I mean, to be fair, I like what
they've done with our logo.

-Yes, well,
who doesn't like tacos?

There's a whole lot of jargon
in here

that's very specific
to this movement.

So "when the broadcast starts"
means when the war starts,

or the boogaloo,
and "your news crew,"

meaning you and your fellow
boogaloo supporters,

"decide to hit the local
nasty girl armory,"

armory meaning weaponry.

-The guys, though,
who are looking at this
stuff, they know...

-They know exactly
what it means.

-Even if the language
wasn't coded,

Facebook leaves it up
to group moderators to flag,

which often they don't.

But what Facebook does do
isn't much better.

-If you look at Facebook's
suggested groups,

this Newsboys group,
this is a boogaloo group.

And it's telling me
because I recently viewed

the VICE Journalism boogaloo
group that I just showed you.

Facebook is handing you
a buffet of content

that's going to
further radicalize

someone that could
potentially be dangerous.

-Ain't nobody gonna fuck this up
for us this morning.

So I need y'all to follow
simple instructions.

[ All grunt ]

Follow me down to the park
so we can get this shit started.

-Militias in the U.S.

and specifically
the Boogaloo Bois

are usually made up of white
guys who lean conservative,

but that's now changing.

There's a growing movement of
left-wing black militia members

who, like white militias,

don't have much love
for the government.

The most prominent group
is NFAC,

the Not F'ing Around Coalition.

-Now, I'm gonna come
down the line

and I'm gonna look
at everybody's weapon.

I'm gonna look at your uniform
and I'm gonna look at you.

And if I tell you fall out,
thank you for coming.

Y'all understand?
- Yes, sir.

-The commander of the militia
is John Fitzgerald Johnson,

AKA Grandmaster Jay,
a hip-hop artist, deejay,

Army vet turned
activist politician.

Grandmaster Jay ran
for president in 2016.

Since we can't seem
to get ourselves together

to make you change the laws,

why don't I just run
for the presidency myself

and utilize executive authority
and create an agency

that if someone gets shot
by a cop,

it immediately goes
to the federal government.

It doesn't go into the hands
of these people out here.

It's become federal
right off the gate.

That was my goal.

So I declared my candidacy
for the presidency.

And as you can tell, they did
a good job of blocking that out.

So you had no idea
that we were running.

There were 24 of us
that you had no idea.

Now guess what happened.
Look what you got.

[ Indistinct chanting ]

-By 2016, after the killings
of black men

like Walter Scott
and Freddie Gray,

his failed presidential bid,

and a growing mistrust
in the system,

Not F'ing Around Coalition
was born.

As history shows us
over and over,

oppression breeds revolt.

-All you motherfuckers over here
think y'all cute

'cause y'all ain't got to carry
a goddamn weapon.

But you're still black,
and it don't wash off.

So if they shoot us,
they gonna shoot you, too.

They said they gonna kill
every last one of you
black motherfuckers.

- A goddamn lie.
- I know. That's what I said.

Because we gonna kill
their ass first.

Black nation!
- Black nation!

- Black nation!
- Black nation!

-The Not Fucking Around
Coalition

was created by and for
American citizens

to protect the black community.

We're not fucking around
with your excuses anymore.

We're not fucking around
with your apologies anymore.

We're not fucking around when
someone tells us to calm down

while people continue
to act violent against us.

We're just not fucking around
with any more of it.

-I cannot imagine how
Breonna's mama feels.

I got four sons, God damn it,
and I'm telling you this.

I'm not on no peaceful shit.

If the police take one of mine,

God damn it,
I'm taking all of yours.

And I mean that.

-When people ask us, who are we,
we let them know

at the very high level,
we're ex-military

but not all of us.

Legal gun owners
but not all of us.

We're your co-workers.

We are members
of the black community

that feel that
a stronger response is needed

and that we have to be able
to defend ourselves

because no one is defending us.

That's who we are.

-This weekend, NFAC
is in Louisville, Kentucky,

demanding more
government transparency

in the killing
of Breonna Taylor.

-Under no circumstances are you
to point your weapon at anybody

unless they point one
at you first.

If they do, kill 'em.

Do not shoot them, kill them.

Let's walk, NFC.

-This sounds extreme, but many
of these militia members

have seen their people killed
when they weren't armed,

when a gun was pointed at them
and they did nothing.

-I want snipers on the roof,
drones in the air.

All weapons loaded.

-NFAC's presence caught
the attention

of other local militias,

and with different armed groups
in the same vicinity,

there were concerns
that violence could erupt.

But while the police created
a demilitarized zone

to mitigate the risk
of complete mayhem,

other militia members like these
guys from Kentucky United

didn't seem to be adversarial.

-If you turn the TV off

and actually
go talk to these guys,

we got way more in common
than what them or I think.

-Every time they come over,

we have a conversation
with them,

it seems that we come
to the common ground

that we need to continue
to conversate.

We don't need to be listening

to what the government's
telling us.

-We got law enforcement
that lied.

We're here to self-police
our people.

[ Cheering ]

-Grandmaster Jay
and some of his followers

have some extreme views.

As an example, they believe
in a sovereign black nation

separate from the United States.

But at the center
of that argument

is an anti-government sentiment,

and that's what connects NFAC
to mostly white militias.

-In many ways,
the first left militia

that most people
might have ever thought about

would have been
the Black Panthers...

- ♪ Time to pick up the gun ♪
- Off the pigs!

-...who explicitly carried guns
around the streets of California

while following police officers

to try to make sure
that the police

did not behave in abusive ways.

What's interesting,
from my point of view,

is that these left militias,
anyway,

have adopted many
of the same tactics

and many of the same rituals
that you see on right militias.

- I...
- I...

-Say your name.
[ Indistinct talking ]

Will never allow...

-I'll say this when you talk
about these other militias.

See, the difference
between all of them and us

is that we have
one common enemy.

We don't care
what they upset about.

If they want peace with us,
let it be peace.

But if they want war with us,
then let it be war.

Either way,
we're gonna enjoy it.

-With militarized groups

from all different
political backgrounds

showing up at rallies,
experts warn Congress

that they need to take
these groups seriously.

-All are interested in bringing
about the collapse

of democracies
through terrorist violence.

-Memes become viral and evolve

and plant hateful
and revolutionary ideas

in public eye.

-There are too many guns
at these events

held by too many groups
with conflicting goals.

You can find the Oath Keepers
taking to the streets

to protect police
or businesses from Antifa

while boogaloo members join
forces with Black Lives Matter

against the police.

Add in the National Guard, a
sudden influx of federal agents,

alt-right agitators
and white supremacist groups,

there is a potential
street war brewing.

These groups know they need
a catalyst, a big event.

They need a Ruby Ridge or Waco
so they can be the next McVeigh.

Most are waiting
for the big event,

but there are some who will do
what they have to

to force this occurrence.

-Experts agree this isn't
a long shot, it's likely.

All it takes is for one person
to open fire.

And that's exactly what happened

at NFAC's weapon inspection
in Louisville.

[ Indistinct shouting ]

While we were filming,
one of their shotguns misfired.

-Let's go, medics, let's go.

-Two people were rushed
to the hospital.

If more disparate groups
were present,

this could have been
the street war

JJ MacNab warns is imminent.

Does it concern you as somebody
who invites people

to these rallies,
like the one on July 4th,

that you're gonna get,
like, white nationalists

who you don't agree with
and some black protesters

who show up
and something pops off

and it's like something
that you organized?

Does that concern you?

-I worry more about
the government killing me

than I do about people
from either side

of the political spectrum
killing me.

-Or what about
killing other people?

-I worry more about
the government killing people

than I do about people
from either side

of the spectrum killing people.

-What concerns me about
all militia movements, really,

including the boogaloo movement,
is that one dude who's unstable

who shows up at a protest

after reading the memes
or messaging or whatever

that encourage him to fire
against federal officers

and he shows up
and he kills someone.

-Gun rights protest...
Let's just go with that.

Let's X all other protests out.
Gun rights protest.

You know how many have ended
in violence?

I'm gonna list them for you.
One...

two... three...

None. Literally none.

-Well, there was the shooting of
the federal officer in Oakland,

then another right-wing shooter

allegedly killed two protesters
in Kenosha, Wisconsin,

and then at a protest
in Las Vegas over the summer,

three men who had allegedly met
on boogaloo Facebook groups

showed up with
Molotov cocktails.

They were also members
of a group that had instructions

on how to make those bombs.

They pled not guilty.

-There are several images here.

It looks like there
are seven total.

We have instructions
for Molotov cocktails,

instructions for how
to make your own ammunition.

But the gasoline bombs
and the Molotov cocktails,

we highlighted those
in particular

because this is the same group
that the men from Vegas

who were arrested with Molotov
cocktails were members of.

-Wow. So presumably they learned
how to do it from this post.

-It's entirely possible.

-Unfortunately, the main threat
of large-scale violence

isn't an accidental shooting.

-There are a lot of people
who openly speak on Facebook

about their willingness
to give their life

for that very movement.

When you have people
discussing that already,

planning for that to happen,
training one another,

this isn't something
that's just...

The chances are it just happens
out of nowhere.

There's people
prepping for this.

The point of being armed

is to fire back at police
if fired upon.

And the bad apples
that are being referenced

that we've seen are the people
that decided to act first

before being fired upon.

And it's not one or two.

We're seeing more and more
of these arrests by people

who do have violent intentions

because that's the point of
the movement that they joined.

-The larger consequence
of leaderless resistance

has been this big
public misunderstanding

of what this violence is.

Because what we see
and what we remember

and we read about
and what we hear about

is the lone-wolf terrorist

when, in fact,
what we are looking at

is a broad and interconnected
social movement

that joins these people together

and that continues
to do violence.

So when we put them together,
what do we see?

Then we see a rising tide
of violence instead of just

a string of disconnected
lone-wolf actions.

-What would be a scenario that
would push you guys toward war?

-I feel that, especially
in the state of Virginia,

if they start serving
these no-knock search warrants,

that's gonna push... put
Virginia on the brink of war.

- Hm.
- Um, and I hope that if they

serve a no-knock search warrant
on me, my boys will go to war

for me, you know?
- But, with respect,

they did that to Duncan Lemp,
and, like, there's no war

against the government
right now.

-Duncan Lemp they murdered,

they murdered in his sleep
in Maryland.

We've had protests in Maryland.

We're considering
doing another one.

Things take time.

And I can't really say that
one thing would spark a war.

But I will say this.

If Virginia keeps heading
in the direction it's heading,

it's inevitable
that there's gonna be a war.

♪♪

-[ Shouts command ]

[ Gunfire ]

-I love my life. It's wonderful.

Until the government
takes it away from me.

In the French Revolution, they
took every person in government

and cut their head off
on a guillotine.

I'm not saying
that's what this is about,

but I am saying
that a lot of people in it

believe it's time
for a cleansing of government.

-The Boogaloo Bois
do not seem equipped

or ready to go to war
with the government,

but they could start
a major street war,

a mass-casualty event.

And at this point, that seems
to be the greatest threat

to the public
and to law enforcement.

-We could be looking at
a full-fledged insurgency.

Now, I'm not saying
that's 100% certain, right?

I'm saying we're playing
Russian roulette,

and there's a bullet in there.

-Meanwhile, NFAC is growing

and demanding answers
from the government,

not just in
Breonna Taylor's death,

but in the killings of
all unarmed Black citizens

and in the systemic racism that
continues to plague our country.

-We want an answer.

We're not here
to make something happen

that hasn't already
supposed to happen.

We want what was supposed to
happen to go ahead and happen.

I want somebody
to tell me the goddamn truth.

-For NFAC, it's not just a vague
revolutionary or civil war

at some point in the future.
It's now.

It's pressure in the face
of the government

and blatant threats from
thousands of armed citizens.

-If you don't do something about
it soon, you see all of this?

They're gonna burn this bitch
to the ground, okay?

-But the question of how real

an uprising against the
government is, is up for debate.

-There is this question about,

at what point does the
Second Amendment stop working?

Rather, at what point
has the American superstate

become so highly militarized

that no amount
of Second Amendment

could possibly empower
the People

to take back the nation
or overthrow it?

-Regardless,
the Second Amendment

remains the unifier
among these groups.

And now what differentiates them
from militias of the past

is their ability to organize

using an incredibly powerful
tool... the Internet.

-What it's really done
is lower the opportunity costs

to people who are interested
and sympathetic.

It's provided you an anonymity
that you didn't used to have.

-While Facebook
has regulated some pages,

experts say they haven't done
nearly enough.

The result is a movement
that is multiplying online.

-Facebook has a lot
of responsibility,

certainly more
than any other platform.

This is the platform where

they are sharing their manifesto
in full.

Facebook was warned
in February by NBC,

in March by TTP,

and refused
to de-platform this movement.

TTP put together a tweet thread
showing a lot of the concerning

content that was taking place
in these private groups.

12 hours after that tweet,
then those posts were removed.

The world's largest
social-media platform

should be able
to keep up with this.

-With militias inevitably
becoming more powerful

online and in the streets during
near-constant civil unrest,

it's unclear how they'll respond
if Trump does perhaps

the most tyrannical thing
come Election Day.

I've heard some fears

that if Trump loses,
he may not leave office.

Does it concern you
what these groups would do

if he didn't leave office?

-It's difficult to say what
the boogaloo movement would do

if Trump didn't leave office,
particularly because

so many members in that movement
do support Trump.

What it may do is really
fracture the movement further.

-So, Election Day 2020.

Let's say Biden wins,
and Trump doesn't step down.

What do you think will happen?

-I don't even think
that would happen.

Uh, because Trump knows
he can't do that.

-He's got the military.

- The military...
- He's the commander in chief.

-They have a choice

of obeying a lawful order
or an unlawful order.

It is not lawful for a president

to remain seated
after an election.

If Trump just blatantly refused
to step down,

I mean, what's he gonna do?

He literally has no authority.
There's nothing one man can do.

-Time will tell just how much

these Boogaloo Bois
reject tyranny

and just how powerful
they really are.

-That Second Amendment is the
only thing that can protect you.

If we all come together
and we're all strapped

and we're all armed,
guess who they ain't gassing.

-I ain't never been gassed!

-Oh, and that's not a threat
against law enforcement.

That's a promise
of self-defense.

[ Cheers and applause ]

♪♪