Murrieta Home Used For Anti-Government 'Boogaloo' Activities

MURRIETA, CA — Following a search warrant service in Murrieta last month by the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force, a criminal complaint filed in federal court details an investigation into alleged "boogaloo" anti-government activities by a Pomona man and his cohorts — including one person in Murrieta — but the FBI is releasing few added details.

Matthew Edward Chen was arrested Jan. 28 in Pomona on suspicion of illegal firearms possession. According to the complaint filed in U.S. District Court, Chen, who was born in 1995, is a member of the Cali Bois, a California-based group that adheres to boogaloo ideology and a violent overthrow of the government.

"The term boogaloo ... has increasingly been co-opted by militia violent extremists to refer to an impending politically motivated civil war or uprising against the government ...," according to the complaint.

On Oct. 23, 2021, Chen and others attended a Cali Bois meeting in a Murrieta residential garage. A person living at the home — identified as "A.B." who goes by the moniker "Unicorn" — leads the group's Southern California chapter, according to the complaint.

Unbeknownst to the group, an undercover FBI agent and an informant also attended the gathering.

The meeting featured Chen a.k.a. "Dolphin" training other Cali Bois members on how to use silencers and he provided background on the National Firearms Act. His instruction included a PowerPoint presentation titled, "F***ing the ATF and Making the NFA Your B**ch 101. Suppressor edition," according to the complaint.

Chen brought multiple firearms and silencers to the Murrieta meeting and made an illegal $400 silencer sale, the complaint alleged.

Following the October meeting in Murrieta, Chen met with the undercover agent in Pomona believing another sale could be made, including offering parts to make a Glock handgun fully automatic and components for a silencer, according to the complaint.

Law enforcement ran a check on Chen in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record to see if he had the required paperwork to sell the parts, which he did not and an arrest warrant was issued.

It is not clear how many other alleged Cali Bois members may have been taken into custody in connection with Chen's Jan. 28 arrest. The FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force and other law enforcement officers conducted a Jan. 28 search warrant at a home in the 23000 block of Joaquin Ridge Drive in Murrieta. At least one man was detained in handcuffs.

The FBI has neither confirmed nor denied that the address is linked to the Oct. 23, 2021, Cali Bois meeting.

"The investigation is continuing," said Laura Eimiller, spokesperson for the FBI's Los Angeles Field Office.

Federal criminal cases filed in the Eastern District on the same date as Chen's were not viewable to the public via the court system.

The FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force has been cracking down on the Cali Bois and boogaloo adherents. In 2020, former U.S. Air Force Sgt. Steven Carrillo was indicted in Northern California in the Oakland shooting death of Protective Security Officer Dave Patrick Underwood. Carrillo is also accused of killing Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Sgt. Damon Gutzwiller. Investigators in the Gutzwiller slaying allegedly found a bullet-proof vest belonging to Carrillo with a boogaloo patch, and they said he wrote "BOOG" with his own blood on a vehicle.

The FBI task force investigates international and domestic terrorism.

Court records show a judge ordered Chen to be evaluated for "mental illness and other ailments." He was indicted by a federal grand jury on Feb. 4. and is scheduled to be arraigned on Feb. 17.