Earlier this year Michael Paul Dahlager of St. Cloud, MN was attending “Stop the Steal” rallies and dreaming of killing cops. They picked him up in April and look at where we are three months later.

MINNEAPOLIS – A St. Cloud man, and self-described member of the Boogaloo Bois, pleaded guilty yesterday to possessing two drop-in auto sears, a device that converts a semi-automatic firearm into an unlawful fully automatic firearm, announced Acting U.S. Attorney W. Anders Folk.

According to court documents, in November 2020, the FBI initiated an investigation into Michael Paul Dahlager, 27, a self-proclaimed member of the “Boogaloo Bois,” a loosely connected group of individuals who espouse violent anti-government sentiments. The term “Boogaloo” itself references an impending second civil war in the United States and is associated with violent uprisings against the government. In November 2020, the FBI learned through a confidential human source (“CHS”) that Dahlager was in possession of a 3D-printed “drop in auto sear” and a homemade firearm suppressor. An “auto sear” is a part designed and intended for use in converting a semi-automatic weapon to shoot automatically by a single pull of the trigger and is a machine gun under federal law.

According to court documents, on February 3, 2021, Dahlager delivered two auto sears to the CHS and he demonstrated how the devices should be inserted into a firearm. At the time of his arrest in April 2021, law enforcement recovered six additional auto sears and a silencer from Dahlager’s vehicle and home.

This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, with assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew R. Winter, and Trial Attorneys George Kraehe and Phil Viti of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.