Charges: 'Boogaloo Bois' member from St. Cloud plotted attack on State Capitol
The scene at the 'Stop The Steal' rally at the Minnesota State Capitol on Jan. 17.
A self-described member of the extremist group known as the Boogaloo Bois has been charged with possession of a machine gun, with a criminal complaint claiming he was plotting an attack on the Minnesota State Capitol in St. Paul.
Federal firearms charges have been filed against Michael Dahlager, 27, on Wednesday, with charges stating he attended a "Stop The Steal" rally at the Capitol on Dec. 12, at which he conducted surveillance that included scouting police numbers and "over-watch positions" for the Boogaloo Bois, as well as which streets were blocked.
The FBI had learned through a confidential source that Dahlager had been "discussing his willingness to kill members of law enforcement," and that he was in possession of a homemade firearm suppressor and a 3D-printed "drop-in auto sear," which is designed to convert a semi-automatic weapon so that it fires automatically.
Dahlager then allegedly showed the source several tactical weapon items including body armor, an AR-15 rifle with a folding stock, two auto sears, and what he claimed was a suppressor.
While at the "Stop The Steal" rally on Dec. 12, Dahlager took video in which he said, among other things, "we're doing a bit of recon today for the 17th," and that he was "planning to defend ... the January 17th protest."
Another "Stop The Steal" protest was held outside the Capitol on Jan. 17, just days before President Joe Biden's inauguration.
He also allegedly told the confidential source, "if it comes down to having a better world for my kids, I'm 100% gonna die for my country ... the army is here. The state's standing army that we were warned about is at the Capital," and said of his wife: "I don't think she realizes that she married somebody with a propensity for violence."
On Dec. 17, Dahlager met another Boogaloo Bois member and the confidential source, where they reviewed the video Dahlager had made at the Dec. 12 rally. During the course of the conversation, Dahlager at one point allegedly said: "right to our right over here is where the (unintelligible) snipers are," with the other Boogaloo Bois member responding: "So we blow that building first?" and Dahlager said: "Yup."
The plan to attend the rally on Jan. 17 was scrapped when the group became suspicious that an informant was feeding information to the FBI, as reports came out about a possible attack being planned ahead of Inauguration Day.
Nonetheless, in the weeks after the inauguration, Dahlager provided two auto sears to the confidential source, and demonstrated how they should be inserted into a firearm.
He is the latest in a series of members of the anti-government Boogaloo Bois to be charged in Minnesota in the past year, though the others were arrested in connection to actions taken during the civil unrest in Minneapolis last May and August.
The "Stop The Steal" rally in December was one of many held across the country in the wake of the Nov. 3 Presidential Election, with former President Donald Trump pushing "The Big Lie" that the election was rigged in favor of Joe Biden.
This culminated in the deadly insurrection by Trump supporters at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, which in turn sparked major security concerns at the Minnesota State Capitol ahead of President Biden's Inauguration on Jan. 20.
