Killing of Duncan Lemp
Duncan Lemp | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 6, 1998 |
| Died | March 12, 2020 (aged 21) |
| Occupation(s) | student software developer right-wing activist[1] |
Duncan Socrates Lemp was a 21-year-old student and software developer who was killed by police during a “no-knock” raid at his home in Potomac, Maryland on March 12, 2020.[2][3] Duncan lived with his parents and 19-year-old brother and was with his pregnant girlfriend when he died.[4]
Lemp was a right-wing activist who associated himself with the 3 Percenters, a far-right paramilitary militia group, and set up web sites for other far-right organizations.[1] He also "frequented the 4chan and Reddit message boards, sites popular with internet trolls".[2] A week before the raid, Lemp posted a picture of two people armed with rifles on Instagram, with text referring to "boogaloo", a white-supremacist slang term for the anticipated second civil war.[2][1][5]
The raid was conducted at approximately 4:30 AM by the Montgomery County Police Department’s SWAT team, who, using an anonymous tip that Lemp was illegally possessing firearms, had obtained a “high-risk” search warrant the day prior.[3] Although the warrant application has not been made available to Lemp's family,[1] their lawyer, Rene Sandler, claims that it made no mention of any “imminent threat” that Lemp posed to any law enforcement official or the public in general.[6]
Police state that Lemp had a juvenile record which prohibited him from possessing weapons until he was 30 and that they recovered three rifles and two handguns from the scene.[2][7] Sandler maintains that nobody in the house the morning of the shooting had a criminal record, but juvenile records would be sealed and therefore unavailable.[2][1]
Accounts between the Lemp family and MCPD differ. Police say they found a booby-trapped shotgun shell that was rigged to go off when his door was opened, and had fire marshals disarm it before going in.[1] They assert that they announced themselves when entering and Lemp “confronted” them, armed with a rifle, and ignored commands to show his hands and get on the ground.
Lemp’s family maintains that the officers “initiated” gunfire and flash bangs from outside the house through Duncan’s window without warning and while Lemp was sleeping.[4][7][8] Lemp’s girlfriend said no verbal commands were given to her or Duncan until after he was shot.[3] Body camera footage has not yet been released. [1]
Since his death, Lemp has become a martyr for various far-right movements, including anti-lockdown protesters and the "Boogaloo Boys".[1][5][9]
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Anti-Lockdown Protesters Now Have a 21-Year-Old Martyr". Daily Beast. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
- ^ a b c d e Kunzelman, Michael. "Lawyer: Man killed by officer was asleep when police fired". ABC News. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
- ^ a b c Bovard, Jim. "The Mystery Deepens Over The Pre-Dawn Police Killing Of Duncan Lemp". The America Conservative. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
- ^ a b Bovard, Jim. "Did Maryland Police Shoot And Kill A Sleeping Man?". The America Conservative. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
- ^ a b ""The Boogaloo: Extremists' New Slang Term for A Coming Civil War"". ADL. Retrieved 2020-05-13.
- ^ "Maryland man fatally shot by police 'while asleep in his bedroom". The Guardian. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
- ^ a b Kunzelman, Michael. "Police: Man Shot by Officer Had Rifle, Ignored Commands". ABC News. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
- ^ Morse, Dan. "Md. man killed by officer during raid had door booby-trapped to fire at anyone entering, police say". Washington Post. Retrieved 2020-05-09.
- ^ "A Self-Proclaimed "Boogaloo Boy" Was Arrested After Allegedly Livestreaming His Hunt To Kill A Police Officer". Buzzfeed. Retrieved 2020-05-13.