FBI Arrests 2 Men Associated With ‘Boogaloo Bois’ in Kentucky

Armed members of the left-wing subsection of the militia coined the Boogaloo Boys converse with Kentucky State troopers outside of the Capitol in Frankfort, Kentucky, on Jan. 17, 2021. Jon Cherry/Getty Images

The FBI on Thursday arrested two men who are members of a militia group associated with the Boogaloo Bois, an anti-government, militant extremist group, one of whom due to his actions in connection to a riot in downtown Louisville, Kentucky on Jan. 6.

The men, 32-year-old John Subleski and 35-year-old Adam Turner, both from Louisville, were arrested by the FBI’s Louisville Division, the Department of Justice announced in a release.

Subleski was alleged to have incited a riot in downtown Louisville on the same day as the breach of the Capitol building took place in Washington, D.C. On social media, Subleski said it was “Time to storm LMPD [Louisville Metropolitan Police Department].”

Subleski was charged with a violation of 18 United States Code, Section 2101 for “using a facility of interstate commerce to incite a riot and committing an act of violence in furtherance of a riot,” according to the DOJ.

Amid the riots late on Jan. 6, members of Subleski’s group pointed their rifles at a driver, blocked intersections, and barricaded roads, while others openly wielded their firearms, the complaint alleges. Prosecutors further allege that Subleski is captured on video firing his rifle at a vehicle that drove through one of the barricades put up by his group, after which he fled the scene.

The criminal complaint alleges that Subleski was a member of the militia known as the United Pharaoh’s Guard (UPG). The UPG aligns itself with the Boogaloo Bois.

According to the DOJ, “Boogaloo” is a term referencing a violent uprising or impending civil war.

Prosecutors allege that Turner identifies himself as a member of the UPG and the Boogaloo Bois. He was charged with “communicating a threat in interstate commerce” in violation of 18 United States Code, Section 875(c) on Dec. 25, 2020. That day, he allegedly confronted police officers during which he was openly carrying an AR-pistol and another handgun. The events took place while he was participating in a protest caravan that was driving through St. Matthews, Kentucky.

He was later arrested for “menacing and resisting arrest,” the DOJ announced, adding that after the arrest, he “made a number of Twitter and Facebook posts threatening police officers.”

Both are scheduled for separate preliminary and detention hearings before a federal magistrate judge on Feb. 17. They each face a maximum of 5 years imprisonment, $250,000 in fines, and a 3-year term of supervised release.