A federal complaint says investigators found the AR-15 rifle used to kill Underwood and injure his partner when Carrillo was arrested.
A second suspect, Robert Justus, 30, is facing charges of attempted murder and aiding and abetting for allegedly driving the white van used in the Oakland shooting.
“Carrillo elected to travel to Oakland to conduct this murder and take advantage of a time when this nation was mourning the killing of George Floyd,” said FBI Special Agent Jack Bennett at a press conference Tuesday. “There is no evidence that these men had any intention to join the demonstration in Oakland, as some in the media have asked. They came to Oakland to kill cops.”
Federal investigators say the suspects are affiliated with the far-right extremist ”Boogaloo" group, and the killings were part of an anti-government plot. “As inherent to an ideology that identifies as militia and shares the narrative of inciting a violent upbringing against perceived government tyranny,” said U.S. Attorney Dave Anderson.
Officials say Carrillo wore a patch that is a symbol of the Boogaloo movement and wrote phrases associated with the group in his own blood on the vehicle he had carjacked in the Ben Lomond attack.
The FBI believes that Carrillo and Justus intentionally used protests against police violence and the death of George Floyd on May 29 as a cover for their plot and knew that it would give them ample targets. Over 500 police officers were responding to the protests a few block away from where Underwood and his partner were attacked.
Carrillo reportedly wrote in a Facebook post on the day of the protests, "go to the riots & support our own cause. Show them the real targets. Use their anger to fuel our fire. Think outside the box. We have mobs of angry people to use to our advantage.”