Boogaloo member Stephen Parshall sentenced for plot to blow up substation near BLM protest

A man with ties to a right-wing extremist group advocating the overthrow of the U.S. government was sentenced this week on a terrorism charge relating to what authorities said was his role in a plot to firebomb a power substation near a Black Lives Matter protest in Las Vegas.

A state judge sentenced Stephen T. Parshall, also known as "Kiwi," on Tuesday to life with the possibility of parole for assisting, soliciting or conspiring to commit an act of terrorism as part of a guilty plea agreement.

Parshall, 39, is a former Navy enlistee and faces additional time for federal charges relating to sexual exploitation of children, the U.S. Department of Justice announced in March. Las Vegas Metropolitan Police originally charged Parshall with four felonies but boiled it down to one as part of the agreement.

He self-identified as a member of the "Boogaloo" movement, according to court records. His attorney Robert Draskovich didn't immediately respond to USA TODAY's request for comment.

What is the Boogaloo movement?

The Boogaloo is a movement that started online in white power and anti-government spaces in the early 2010s, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center. Members of the movement seek to overthrow the government and create societal collapse in anticipation of another Civil War.

Members notably wear Hawaiian shirts and carry weapons.

Dozens of supporters of the ideology have been arrested on charges ranging from terrorism to conspiracy, and there have been at least two deadly shootings by alleged Boogaloo members.

In December, three men were sentenced to seven to 12 years in prison in connection with a plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. Prosecutors said the men were seeking to inspire a U.S. civil war known as the boogaloo.

Authorities investigate Parshall, others following tip about terrorist activity

Las Vegas FBI agents began investigating Parshall, Andrew Lynam Jr., 26, and William L. Loomis, 43, in April 2020 after receiving a tip that the three men, who are white, were planning "terrorist activity," according to a 2020 two-count complaint filed in the U.S. District Court of Nevada.

An unnamed confidential source met Lynam and Parshall during a Las Vegas rally that sought to reopen businesses during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in April 2020, the complaint says. Lynam told the source the Boogaloo group is for those who wish to violently overthrow the U.S. government.

The source was told about plans to attack a U.S. Forest Ranger station near Lake Mead. But, instead of attacking the forest ranger station, the three made plans to firebomb a power substation during a Black Lives Matter rally protesting the death of George Floyd, who was killed in Minneapolis police custody. The FBI alleged in the complaint the group sought to create civil unrest and riots throughout Las Vegas.

The trio were arrested during the May 30, 2020, protest in Las Vegas while Parshall was ripping rags and dousing them in gasoline to make a Molotov cocktail. None of the explosive detonated.

Loomis was sentenced in January to four to 20 years in a Nevada prison after agreeing to plead guilty in October to providing material support for the commission of an act of terrorism.

Court records indicate Lynam also agreed to a deal and was sentenced to four to 20 years in a state prison.

Parshall also sentenced in sex crimes

Parshall was also sentenced in March to 33 years in prison after pleading guilty last October to one count of coercion and enticement, one count of receipt and distribution of child pornography and two counts of sexual exploitation of children.

Law enforcement charged him after discovering imagery of child sexual abuse and "erotica" on Parshall's phone during a search of his devices in relation to the terrorism charges he faces.

The DOJ said it discovered several social media accounts Parshall had where he spoke with multiple victims and persuaded one to take sexually explicit pictures, which they shared with him. They also learned he traded sexual images of children with other users.

Contributing: Khrysgiana Pineda, USA TODAY; Ed Komenda, Reno Gazette Journal; Associated Press.