GREENBELT, Md. (AP) - A Maryland man described by the FBI as a member of the anti-government “boogaloo” movement pleaded not guilty to a gun charge on Monday, court records show.
Frank William Robertson Perry, 39, remained jailed after his arraignment on a charge that he illegally possessed a rifle. He is prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition due to a 2002 burglary conviction, the FBI said.
A grand jury indicted Perry on the charge after his Oct. 7 arrest.
The FBI identified Perry as a member of the boogaloo movement in September, an agent wrote in seeking a warrant to search the Dundalk home he shares with his girlfriend. Boogaloo adherents are part of a loose, anti-government, pro-gun extremist movement. The name is a reference to a slang term for a sequel - in this case, a second U.S. civil war.
Court records don’t specify why the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force opened its investigation of Perry, who posted images associated with the boogaloo on a Facebook account that the FBI says belongs to him. The content on Perry’s Pinterest account “reflects a substantial interest in firearms and militia extremist activities,” the agent wrote.
“The profile also contained numerous saved or pinned pictures of firearms and ammunition, information on how to manufacture gun powder, and various statements regarding one’s obligation to fight against a tyrannical government,” the agent’s affidavit says.
The FBI says Perry’s girlfriend purchased the lower receiver of a rifle at a gun store in Baltimore County in April. She stated on a government form that she bought it for herself, but the FBI said investigators reviewed the girlfriend’s social media accounts and didn’t find any evidence that she is interested in firearms or capable of assembling her own rifle.
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