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(CN) — A California man affiliated with the Boogaloo anti-government movement was sentenced to life in prison on Friday for his role in the killing of a federal security officer outside the U.S. Courthouse in Oakland during the George Floyd protests of May 2020.
Robert Justus Jr., 34, drove the van from which his accomplish fired the gunshots that killed Officer Dave Underwood and wounded a second officer. Last year, a jury convicted Justus of aiding and abetting Underwood’s murder and the attempted murder of the other officer who was guarding the building.
“With this sentence, the Justice Department has ensured that both of the defendants responsible for brutally murdering a law enforcement officer and seriously wounding another are held accountable for their heinous crimes,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement. “Law enforcement officers serve their communities at great risk to themselves, and anyone who targets these brave men and women will be met with the full force of the Justice Department.”
The shooter, former Air Force Sergeant Steven Carrillo, 35, struck a plea deal with the prosecution and was sentenced to 41 years in prison.
Carrillo and Justus, the Justice Department said, had planned to capitalize on the protests that were planned in Oakland in the wake of the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officers. The two hoped that their attack would spark further anti-government violence.
Both men shared an allegiance to the Boogaloo movement, a decentralized anti-government and anti-law enforcement movement that believes in a coming civil war its adherents refer to as “the boogaloo.”
In February of 2020, Justus commented on Facebook that he had a “bloodlust for police,” the Justice Department said. On May 27, 2020, he posted an image depicting a police officer being shot in the head with a caption reading “Speak to cops in a language they understand.”
Justus’ attorneys didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on his sentence.
Carrillo was arrested on June 6, 2020, in Ben Lomond after ambushing deputies from the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s office, killing Sgt. Damon Gutzwiller. They were responding to a witness report of a white van containing firearms and bomb-making materials at Carrillo’s residence. Another officer was hospitalized in the ambush.
Justus was arrested soon after. He told agents that he had met Carrillo on Facebook and they arranged for Carrillo to give Justus a ride to the Oakland protest.
Justus said he declined to use the body armor and firearm Carrillo gave him, and “did not want to participate in the murder,” but that he felt that he had to participate because he was “trapped in the van with Carrillo.”
He said Carrillo opened the passenger-side sliding door and began shooting, saying as they drove away, “Did you see how they fucking fell?” They then drove to Millbrae, where Justus lived, and Carrillo told him not to tell anyone or brag about what had happened. Justus said he got rid of the clothing he was wearing and erased all communications with Carrillo from his phone.
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