Weeks after saying it removed Boogaloo products, Amazon is still listing patches and t-shirts promoting the far-right, extremist group
- Amazon's marketplace lists products associated with the Boogaloo Bois, a far-right extremist group.
- The company said that it removed Boogaloo-related products after a BBC report flagged their presence in late July.
- Amazon's third-party seller policy prohibits the sale of "products that promote, incite or glorify hatred, violence, racial, sexual or religious intolerance or promote organizations with such views."
- The Boogaloo movement has been tied to murders, and three of its followers were arrested and charged with domestic terrorism after attempting to incite violence at recent police brutality protests.
Weeks after Amazon said it removed products associated with the far-right extremist Boogaloo Bois movement, Business Insider found patches, t-shirts, and other items associated with the group, which openly advocates for violent insurrection against the government.
A late July report from the BBC noted the presence of Boogaloo-related products on Amazon's marketplace. The company told the outlet that the "products in question are no longer available and we've taken action on the bad actors that offered the products and violated our policies." However, Boogaloo items remain listed on the site in what is one of the latest examples of Amazon's struggle to moderate its marketplace.
In the search results for "Boogaloo" on Amazon, Business Insider found Hawaiian-print shirts — the movement's trademark uniform — as well as t-shirts that warn of a second American Civil War. Patches with Boogaloo-associated icons can also be found under less-obvious keywords.
Amazon's third-party-seller policy prohibits the sale of "products that promote, incite or glorify hatred, violence, racial, sexual or religious intolerance or promote organizations with such views." The company did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment.
One of the results is a t-shirt that reads "2nd American Revolution: Coming Soon!" The product description warns to "get your gun rights shirt before 1776 returns. Don't let them tread on you!"
Other results were listed under "thin Boog line" instead of "Boogaloo." A $14 patch displays an American flag with a sliver of a Hawaiian print. In the product's Q&A section, a customer asks, "Isn't this a symbol of white supremacist group 'Boogaloo Boys?'" The seller answered that it is not.
Another $4.50 patch on Amazon pictures a white igloo, a symbol that has been harnessed by the movement in a nod to its nickname, "Big Igloo."
While billions of products are listed for sale on Amazon, the company has taken what many criticize as a hands-off approach to moderating listings. Amazon disputed that assessment, telling Business Insider that the company's proactive systems caught more than 6 billion suspicious listings in 2019 before they were available. Still, content promoting anti-semitic, white-supremacist, and far-right extremist messages have proliferated on the platform.
Boogaloo is a loosely-organized group that advocates for violent, armed uprisings against both the government and leftists. Some of its followers endorse white supremacy, but Boogaloo's core ideology is that a second American Civil War is coming, an event they refer to as a boogaloo.
The movement has been tied to multiple acts of violence. Three Boogaloo members were arrested and charged with domestic terrorism in June after attempting to incite violence during Black Lives Matter demonstrations. And Steven Carrillo, an active-duty California serviceman charged with killing two officers in June, allegedly wrote Boogaloo-associated phrases in blood on a vehicle, including "BOOG."
In late June, US Attorney General William Barr assembled a task force to investigate anti-government groups including Boogaloo. Per a July report from The Nation, some of the nation's top intelligence operatives are now monitoring the Boogaloo group.