East Bay Militia Member Charged In Federal Indictment

SAN FRANCISCO – A federal grand jury indicted four members of a militia group, including Kenny Matthew Miksch of San Lorenzo, who are associated with the “boogaloo” movement.

According to the indictment, the four men worked to obstruct justice and destroy records relating to the May 29, 2020 murder and attempted murder of two federal security officers in Oakland, and the June 6 murder of a Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office deputy in Ben Lomond.

The boogaloo movement is an anti-government extremist movement according to the ADL. Boogaloo is slang used by some militia extremists for a coming civil war or uprising against the government.

Also charged in the indictment are Jessie Alexander Rush of Turlock, Bay Area transient Robert Jesus Blancas, and Simon Sage Ybarra of Los Gatos.

According to the indictment, the four men were members of the “1st Detachment, 1st California Grizzly Scouts," a militia group based in Northern California.

"Beginning in April 2020, the Grizzly Scouts connected via a Facebook group and periodically met in person for firearms training and other purposes," the U.S. Attorney’s Office Northern District of California said in a press release. "The Facebook group’s description stated, 'they say the west won’t boog,' a reference to the “boogaloo” movement, and that 'were [sic] here to gather like minded Californians who can network and establish local goon squads.'"

The indictment alleges that the four men communicated among themselves and with others on a WhatsApp group. "In addition, the indictment alleges that less than an hour after the shooting in Ben Lomond, Blancas deleted files related to the Grizzly Scouts from a Dropbox account. Further, within hours of the shooting, members of the Grizzly Scouts including Rush, Blancas, Ybarra, and Miksch allegedly began to reconnect on an alternative communications application. Moreover, the indictment alleges that the four defendants each deleted records of the WhatsApp group communications from their phones, including the prior discussions regarding violence against law enforcement."

The four men are charged with conspiracy to obstruct justice by destroying records, and the destruction of records in official proceedings. Rush is charged with an additional count of obstruction of official proceedings, and Blancas is charged with an additional count of destruction of records in official proceedings.

If convicted, the defendants each face a maximum of up to 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000 for each of the conspiracy, obstruction, and destruction charges.

Ybarra was arrested in the Eastern District of California and made his initial appearance there on April 8.

Rush and Miksch appeared in federal court in San Francisco to make their initial appearances on April 9. They are currently held in federal custody pending further proceedings.

Blancas will make his initial appearance in this matter on April 12. Federal authorities previously arrested Blancas on other charges and he is currently in federal custody pending further proceedings.

The prosecution is being handled by the Special Prosecutions Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California with assistance from the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.

The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The indictment was filed March 23 and unsealed on Friday.

Read the full indictment.