by Crime Watch MN
A North Carolina man has pleaded guilty in federal court in Minneapolis to a charge of conspiring to provide material support to Hamas, a designated foreign terrorist organization.
U.S. Attorney Erica H. MacDonald and National Security Division Assistant Attorney General John Demers announced last week the plea by Benjamin Ryan Teeter, 22, to one count of conspiracy to provide material support and resources, namely property, services and weapons, to Hamas.
Alpha News previously reported on the charges against Teeter and co-defendant Michael Robert Solomon, 30, of New Brighton, which said that the two defendants sought to use violence against the police, other government officials and government property as part of their desire to overthrow the government. While planning the activities, Solomon and Teeter met individuals whom they believed to be members of the foreign terrorist group Hamas.
The complaint further alleged that Teeter and Solomon also expressed their desire to employ themselves as “mercenaries” for Hamas to generate cash for the Boogaloo Bois/Boojahideen movement, including funding for recruitment and purchasing land for a training compound.
The DOJ describes the Boogaloo Bois as a loosely connected group of individuals who espouse violent anti-government sentiments. The term “Boogaloo” itself references a supposedly impending second civil war in the United States and is associated with violent uprisings against the government.
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) offers a lengthy breakdown of the Boogaloo movement and describes the ideology as primarily anti-government, anti-authority and anti-police in nature.
The ADL claims that a number of boogalooers participated in the protests in Minneapolis following the death of George Floyd while in police custody in May. They showed up with “military gear, weapons, tropical shirts and other boogaloo symbols,” the report said. The ADL said that most boogalooers who took part did so because of their own strong anti-police attitudes, perceiving an opportunity to make common cause with others angry about police brutality.
Documents in the case against Teeter and Solomon state that the FBI initiated an investigation into the two defendants in May 2020. The documents further detail a number of conversations that took place over the summer between Teeter, Solomon and undercover agents or actors. In one conversation, Teeter suggested that a northern Minnesota courthouse was a suitable target for destruction. In another conversation, Teeter and Solomon proposed manufacturing suppressors, untraceable firearms, and fully automatic firearms for Hamas.
Teeter will be sentenced at a later date. Both Teeter and Solomon are being held in Sherburne County Jail.
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Minnesota Crime Watch & Information publishes news, info and commentary about crime, public safety and livability issues in Minneapolis, the Twin Cities and Greater Minnesota.
