Riot conviction closes case on white supremacist group’s brawls at California rallies
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A federal jury this week convicted a man accused of being a member of a white supremacist group on rioting charges, bringing to a close a case that dragged on for seven years.
After a five-day trial, Robert Boman, 31, was convicted on Tuesday of conspiracy to violate the anti-riot act and violating the anti-riot act, charges tied to his role in the Rise Above Movement, or RAM, a group accused of inciting brawls at political rallies throughout the state.
Boman is the final defendant in a saga that involved dismissals, appeals and one group member’s extradition from Romania to face charges. He is set to be sentenced Aug. 1.
Peter Swarth, Boman’s attorney, said that “at least until” sentencing, neither he or his client has any public comment.
Federal authorities originally charged Boman and three others in October 2018, describing RAM as a “white supremacy extremist group.”
Several members of a Bay Area group of computer savants and vegan activists have been investigated, criminally charged or deemed persons of interest in violent incidents that have resulted in six deaths across the U.S.
The indictment alleged that RAM members participated in attacks at political rallies in Huntington Beach on March 25, 2017; in Berkeley on April 15, 2017; and in San Bernardino on June 10, 2017. Afterward, members allegedly trained for future events and celebrated by posting photos online of their altercations.
Boman testified in his own defense during the trial, telling jurors he didn’t plan on attacking people while attending rallies, according to Meghann Cuniff, an independent legal affairs reporter. Boman reportedly testified that his resentment toward racial minorities dated back to elementary school, when he and his sister were among the few white children and endured bullying and violence.
An Orange County federal judge at least twice dismissed charges against Boman and Robert Rundo, the co-founder of RAM, at one point finding that the men were being selectively prosecuted, while “far-left extremist groups, such as Antifa” were not. The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected that finding last year.
Rundo pleaded guilty in September to conspiracy to riot. He was sentenced to two years but released based on time served. Another defendant, Tyler Laube, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge for repeatedly punching a journalist and was sentenced to time served.
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