SAN ANTONIO – A self-proclaimed Boogaloo Bois member from the San Antonio area was sentenced to prison months after pleading guilty to illegally owning a firearm.
Cameron Emerson Casey Rankin, a 22-year-old from Karnes County, was sentenced on Dec. 8 to 24 months in prison, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
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He was arrested on Oct. 28, 2020, and on April 27, he pleaded guilty to one count of possession of a firearm by one who has been judicially committed to a mental institution.
On the day of his arrest, FBI agents found a semi-automatic rifle, loaded ammunition magazines and a ballistic protection tactical vest in his apartment, federal authorities said.
“The illegally possessed firearm had the capability and means to affect violence in furtherance of his beliefs,” a news release from the Department of Justice said.
According to court records, Rankin expressed a desire to overthrow the government, specifically, the “three-letter agencies” such as ATF, FBI and IRS, officials said.
KSAT previously reported that he tried to buy two guns from a San Antonio store in March 2018, but was denied because he was previously committed to a mental institution.
In a May 2020 protest in reaction to the death of George Floyd, Rankin and others showed up to the Alamo grounds and later posted pictures online of himself with a gun at the protest.
The post also contained “disdain for police” including, “…hope they burn the precinct down” and “I’m BOOGALOO we hate police,” the release states.
On Aug. 11, 2020, agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives served Rankin a written notice at an airport in Manchester, New Hampshire. The notice said that he was prohibited from possessing firearms, but Rankin threw the letter in the trash before leaving the terminal, federal officials said.
ATF agents also gave him copies of his mental health records, which officials said he also threw away. Agents also seized a handgun and ammunition from Rankin’s luggage.
He was in federal custody since his October 2020 arrest.
The FBI and ATF investigated the case.
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