Shooting of Duncan Lemp

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Duncan Lemp
Born
Duncan Socrates Lemp

1998/1999
Died (aged 21)
Potomac, Maryland, U.S.
OccupationStudent, software developer

On March 12, 2020, Duncan Socrates Lemp was fatally shot at his home in Potomac, Maryland during a no-knock police raid by the Montgomery County Police Department's SWAT team. Police have said that Lemp was shot after "confronting" an officer during the execution of the raid.[1] Lemp's family have said through their attorney that, based on an eyewitness, they believe Lemp was shot without warning while he was asleep.[2][3] Lemp has since been described as a "martyr" for the Libertarian boogaloo movement, some adherents to which believe Lemp was murdered by police because of his involvement with the movement and his anti-government beliefs.[4][5]

Background[]

Lemp was a student and a software developer.[1] Lemp associated himself with the Three Percenters, a far-right paramilitary militia group, and had set up websites for other such organizations.[1][6] He was a member of the United States Transhumanist Party, having joined on September 6, 2019.[7] A week before the raid, Lemp posted a picture of two people armed with rifles on Instagram, with text referring to "boogaloo", a term used by the boogaloo movement as coded language for an anticipated war against the government or left-wing political opponents.[1][8][9][10] Lemp had also made an Instagram post with a caption referring to the Three Percenters and a post captioned with the phrase sic semper tyrannis. The phrase, which means "thus always to tyrants", is the state motto of Virginia.[11] The New York Times noted it had also been used both by Abraham Lincoln's assassin, John Wilkes Booth, and the Oklahoma City bomber, Timothy McVeigh.[12]

Warrant[]

Detectives assigned to the Investigative Services Bureau received an anonymous tip that Lemp illegally possessed firearms.[13][2] Police stated that "detectives applied for and received a no-knock search warrant for the crimes of possession of an assault weapon and possession of a firearm by a prohibited person."[13][14] Police stated that Lemp had a criminal history in juvenile court that prohibited him from legally possessing firearms until the age of 30.[1][2][3] An attorney for Lemp's family said the family had been unaware of any conviction that would have prevented Lemp from owning a gun.[6]

Raid[]

The raid was conducted at approximately 4:30 AM by the Montgomery County Police Department's SWAT team.[2][14]

"The officers entering the residence announced themselves as police and that they were serving a search warrant," police said. "Officers gave commands for individuals inside the residence to show their hands and to get on the ground."[2] The Montgomery County Police Department said that Lemp "confronted" police and was shot by one of their officers.[1] "Upon making contact with Lemp, officers identified themselves as the police and gave him multiple orders to show his hands and comply with the officer's commands to get on the ground," police said. "Lemp refused to comply with the officer's commands and proceeded towards the interior bedroom door where other officers were located."[2] Police also stated that "Lemp was found to be in possession of a rifle and was located directly in front of the interior bedroom entrance door."[2]

Lemp's family maintains that according to an eyewitness, the officers initiated gunfire and flash bangs from outside the house through Duncan's window without warning and while Lemp was sleeping.[2][3] As of October 2020, neither body camera footage nor the arrest warrant had been released, despite public record requests by Reason magazine and MuckRock.[15][16]

Police stated that Lemp had rigged a booby-trap device that was designed to "detonate a shotgun shell at the direction of anyone entering" the bedroom.[2] "After officers entered the bedroom, the other occupant of the room warned the officers to be careful of the device rigged to the exterior door," and Montgomery County bomb-squad technicians were brought in to "render the device safe," police said.[2]

Three rifles and two handguns were recovered during the raid.[3]

Aftermath[]

The Lemp family said that Lemp was asleep next to his girlfriend when a police officer shot him.[8] His girlfriend, who was pregnant, was forced to remain in the room for over an hour with Lemp after he was killed.[12] "The Lemp family requests that the Montgomery County Police immediately release all body camera footage and audio from this horrific event," Lemp family attorneys said.[2] The attorney stated that nobody in the house the morning of the shooting had a criminal record, but juvenile records would be sealed and therefore unavailable.[1][8] The Lemp family released a statement that said, "The police had obtained a search warrant for the home, however the search warrant makes no mention of any imminent threat to law enforcement or the community. No resident of the home had any criminal record."[17] As of May 11, 2020, the warrant application had not been made available to Lemp's family.[8]

After his death, Lemp became a "martyr" among some in the boogaloo movement who have speculated he was murdered for his participation with the movement, his anti-government beliefs, and involvement with other right-wing militias.[8][9][4] Adherents of the boogaloo movement have adopted the phrases "we are Duncan Lemp" and "his name was Duncan Lemp", which The New York Times says they "repeat... like mantras". Boogaloo adherents have also posted to Lemp's girlfriend's Instagram account promising to someday avenge his death.[12]

On March 15, 2020 the United States Transhumanist Party announced an "official week of mourning" in his honor.[7]

A GoFundMe campaign to pay for Lemp's funeral and his family's legal fees raised over $17,000.[12]

In July 2020, Lemp's killing was being investigated by the State's Attorney's Office of Howard County, under a mutual agreement with Montgomery County where prosecutors from each of the two adjacent counties investigate fatal police shootings in the other.[15] In December 2020, this investigation was concluded with prosecutors stating they would not be charging any officers with any wrongdoing.

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g Kunzelman, Michael (March 13, 2020). "Lawyer: Man killed by officer was asleep when police fired". ABC News. Associated Press. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j k Morse, Dan (March 17, 2020). "Md. man killed by officer during raid had door booby-trapped to fire at anyone entering, police say". Washington Post. Retrieved May 15, 2020.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Kunzelman, Michael (March 17, 2020). "Police: Man Shot by Officer Had Rifle, Ignored Commands". US News. Associated Press. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b "'Boogaloo Boy' Arrested in Texas, Charged With Plotting To Murder Cops on Facebook Live". Hatewatch. Southern Poverty Law Center. May 15, 2020. Retrieved 2020-08-01.
  5. ^ Far-right anti-government extremist movement:
  6. ^ Jump up to: a b Sommer, Will (May 11, 2020). "Anti-Lockdown Protesters Now Have a 21-Year-Old Martyr". The Daily Beast. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
  7. ^ Jump up to: a b Stoylarov II, Gennady. "Week of Mourning for Duncan Socrates Lemp – U.S. Transhumanist Party – Official Website". US Transhumanist Party. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  8. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e Sommer, Will. "Anti-Lockdown Protesters Now Have a 21-Year-Old Martyr". Daily Beast. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
  9. ^ Jump up to: a b "The Boogaloo: Extremists' New Slang Term for A Coming Civil War". ADL. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
  10. ^ Allam, Hannah. "'Boogaloo' Is The New Far-Right Slang For Civil War". NPR. Retrieved May 15, 2020.
  11. ^ Bovard, Jim (March 14, 2020). "Did Maryland Police Shoot and Kill a Sleeping Man?". The American Conservative. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
  12. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Sottile, Leah (August 19, 2020). "Inside the Boogaloo: America's Extremely Online Extremists". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved September 7, 2020.
  13. ^ Jump up to: a b "Update: Officer-Involved Shooting in Potomac; Additional Information Released". MCPNews. Montgomery County Police. March 17, 2020. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
  14. ^ Jump up to: a b Vukmanovic, Iris (March 12, 2020). "Potomac Man Fatally Shot by Police Attempting to Serve Warrant". NBC Universal. News4Washington. Retrieved May 15, 2020.
  15. ^ Jump up to: a b Ciaramella, C.J. (July 2, 2020). "Why Haven't We Seen the Body Cam Footage of Duncan Lemp's Killing?". Reason. Retrieved July 21, 2020.
  16. ^ Weissmueller, Zach (October 16, 2020). "The Complicated Truth About the Boogaloo Movement". Reason. Retrieved October 17, 2020.
  17. ^ Coplin, Sydney (March 17, 2020). "Guns, 'Booby Trap' Found During Search Leading to Fatal Police Shooting: Police". NBC Universal. News4Washington. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
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