2 members of 'Boogaloo Bois' facing more federal charges

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Two members of the anti-government "Boogaloo" movement are facing new federal charges for allegedly attempting to work with the terrorist organization Hamas as part of a plot to overthrow the federal government. 

United State Attorney Erica MacDonald announced a four-count superseding indictment Friday charging Michael Solomon, 30, of New Brighton, Minnesota and Benjamin Teeter, 22, of Hampstead, North Carolina with conspiring and attempting to provide material support to a terrorist organization and firearms violations. Solomon and Teeter were initially federally charged in September, but the new indictment replaces those charges. 

Prosecutors say both Solomon and Teeter are members of the "Boogaloo Bois—an anti-government militia group—and a subgroup known as "Boojahideen." 

According to the indictment, a witness told the FBI that Solomon was openly carrying a firearm in a residential neighborhood in Minneapolis during the civil unrest following the death of George Floyd. 

The witness, who interacted with Solomon and Teeter over the course of several days, told FBI agents that the pair possessed firearms and substantial quantities of ammunition. The witness also said Solomon, Teeter and other members of the Boogaloo Bois and Boojahideen discussed committing acts of violence against police officers and other targets. 

The court documents said an FBI informant, whom Solomon and Teeter believed to be a member of Hamas, shared audio recordings with the FBI in which the men expressed that Hamas shares anti-U.S. government views that align with their own views. They also expressed their desire to employ themselves as "mercenaries" for Hamas as a means to generate cash for the Boogaloo movement, including funding for recruitment and purchasing land for a training compound, according to the indictment. 

Solomon and Teeter also told the informant and another person, whom they believed to be a more senior member of Hamas but was actually an undercover FBI agent, their ideas about destroying government monuments, raiding the headquarters of a white supremacist organization in North Carolina and targeting politicians and members of the media. 

Solomon and Teeter also said could make unmarked parts for guns and create unregistered and untraceable weapons, including suppressors, also known as gun silencers. 

In late July, Solomon and Teeter delivered to the undercover agent five suppressors and a "drop in auto sear" (DIAS)—a part designed and intended for use in converting a weapon to shoot automatically. They reportedly believed the suppressors and the DIAS would be used by Hamas overseas to attack Israel. 

They told the agent they wanted to make more suppressors and fully-automatic weapons for Hamas and agreed to make five more suppressors for $1,800. 

Under federal law, suppressors must be registered in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record. Prosecutors say Solomon and Teeter "knowingly possessed a device which converts a semi-automatic rifle into an illegal machine gun." 

Solomon and Teeter will remain in detention pending further proceedings. 

Another self-described member of the Boogaloo Bois—26-year-old Ivan Hunter of Boone, Texas—was indicted by grand jury last month on one riot count for his alleged actions during the civil unrest in Minneapolis following Floyd’s death.