Second “Boogaloo Bois” Member Sentenced to Prison for Conspiring To Provide Material Support to Hamas
MINNEAPOLIS – Benjamin Ryan Teeter, 24, of Hampstead, North Carolina, was sentenced today to 48 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release for conspiring to provide material support and resources to Hamas, a designated foreign terrorist organization, for use against Israeli and U.S. military personnel overseas, announced U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger.
According to court documents, in late May of 2020, the FBI initiated an investigation into Teeter and co-defendant Michael Robert Solomon, 32, two members of the “Boogaloo Bois,” and a sub-group called the “Boojahideen.” The Boogaloo Bois are a group of individuals who espouse violent anti-government sentiments.
According to court documents, on June 10, 2020, Teeter and Solomon met with a confidential human source (“CHS”), whom the defendants believed to be a member of Hamas. During this meeting, Teeter and Solomon proposed assisting Hamas as a means of furthering the goals of the Boogaloo Bois. Throughout the course of the conspiracy, Teeter used encrypted messaging applications to communicate with Solomon and the CHS about various aspects of the conspiracy.
On June 18, 2020, the defendant met with the CHS to discuss the goals of the Boogaloo Bois and identified a courthouse in northern Minnesota that he and Solomon believed was a suitable target for destruction.
On June 28, 2020, Teeter, Solomon, and the CHS, met an undercover employee of the FBI (“UCE”) that Teeter believed was a member of Hamas. During this meeting, Teeter and Solomon proposed manufacturing suppressors, untraceable firearms, and fully automatic firearms for Hamas.
On July 6, 2020, Teeter and Solomon purchased a drill press for the purpose of manufacturing suppressors for Hamas. Teeter admits that he and Solomon had planned to use the drill press to also manufacture suppressors for members of the Boogaloo Bois. Solomon and Teeter brought the drill press to Solomon’s home and later used the drill press to manufacture five suppressors.
On July 30, 2020, Teeter and Solomon delivered the five suppressors to the CHS and UCE believing those devices would be used by the militant wing of Hamas. During that meeting, Teeter and Solomon agreed to manufacture additional suppressors for Hamas believing that the next batch of suppressors would be used against Israeli and U.S. military personnel overseas.
Teeter admitted that he and Solomon again met the UCE on August 29, 2020. During this meeting, the defendants gave the UCE a 3-D printed “auto sear” believing that the auto sear would be used by Hamas to convert semi-automatic rifles into fully automatic rifles. At this time, Teeter and Solomon agreed to obtain, and did obtain, another order of auto sears for the CHS and the UCE.
Teeter was sentenced earlier today before Senior U.S. District Judge Michael J. Davis. In sentencing the defendant, the Court recognized the extensive assistance to multiple investigations that Teeter provided to the FBI following his arrest. On December 16, 2020, Teeter pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization.
This case was the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, with assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF).
Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew R. Winter and Trial Attorney Jessica Fender of the National Security Division's Counterterrorism Section prosecuted the case.
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