Four men believed to be linked to a far-right militia were charged with destroying evidence in a federal investigation following the shootings of two police officers.
The Justice Department announced on Friday that Jessie Alexander Rush, 29, Robert Jesus Blancas, 33, Simon Sage Ybarra, 23, and Kenny Matthew Miksch, 21, were charged with conspiracy to destroy documents, destroy documents and obstruct official proceedings.
Prosecutors allege the four men are members of the far-right extremist “Grizzly” militia linked to the “boogaloo” movement, which advocates a politically motivated civil war or uprising against the government.
The charges against the four men refer to two shootings, one on May 29, 2020 and a day later on June 6. Two federal protective security officers (PCOs) were shot in the first incident, which killed one of the PCOs and two Santa Clauses. Cruz Sheriff’s deputies were shot in the second incident. A deputy also died in the second shooting.
The indictment says US Air Force Staff Sgt. Steven Carrillo, a member of the Grizzly Scouts, texted a WhatsApp group with other Grizzly Scouts saying he was going to shoot law enforcement officials.
“Guys, I’ve been foraging,” authorities said Carrillo texted just before the Santa Cruz shooting.
Rush then ordered the members of the group to remove evidence of the text from their phones.
Then: “Blancas deleted files related to the Grizzly Scouts from a Dropbox account. In addition, members of the Grizzly Scouts, including Rush, Blancas, Ybarra and Miksch, began reconnecting via an alternate communications application within hours of the shooting, ”said the DOJ.
The DOJ also said that “the four defendants each deleted WhatsApp group communication data from their phones, including the previous discussions of violence against law enforcement.”
The four men can each face up to 20 years in prison if convicted.