On March 12, 2020, Duncan Socrates Lemp was fatally shot at his home in Potomac, Maryland, during a no-knockpolice raid by the Montgomery County Police Department's SWAT team. Police have said that Lemp was shot after "confronting" an officer during the execution of the raid. Lemp's family have said through their attorney that, based on an eyewitness, they believe Lemp was shot without warning while he was asleep. Lemp has since been described as a "martyr" for the far-right anti-government extremistboogaloo movement, some adherents to which believe Lemp was murdered by police because of his involvement with the movement and his anti-government beliefs.
Background
Lemp was a student and a software developer. Lemp associated himself with the Three Percenters, a far-right paramilitarymilitia group, and had set up websites for other such organizations. He was a member of the United States Transhumanist Party, having joined on September 6, 2019. A week before the raid, Lemp posted a picture of two people armed with rifles on Instagram, with text referring to "boogaloo", a term used by the boogaloo movement as coded language for an anticipated "war against the government or liberals."
Warrant
Detectives assigned to the Investigative Services Bureau received an anonymous tip that Lemp illegally possessed firearms. Police stated that "detectives applied for and received a no-knock search warrant for the crimes of possession of an assault weapon and possession of a firearm by a prohibited person." Lemp allegedly had a criminal history in juvenile court that prohibited him from legally possessing firearms until the age of 30. An attorney for Lemp's family said the family had been unaware of any conviction that would have prevented Lemp from owning a gun.
Raid
The raid was conducted at approximately 4:30 AM by the Montgomery County Police Department's SWAT team. "The officers entering the residence announced themselves as police and that they were serving a search warrant," police said. "Officers gave commands for individuals inside the residence to show their hands and to get on the ground." The Montgomery County Police Department said that Lemp "confronted" police and was shot by one of their officers. "Upon making contact with Lemp, officers identified themselves as the police and gave him multiple orders to show his hands and comply with the officer's commands to get on the ground," police said. "Lemp refused to comply with the officer's commands and proceeded towards the interior bedroom door where other officers were located." Police also stated that "Lemp was found to be in possession of a rifle and was located directly in front of the interior bedroom entrance door." Lemp's family maintains that according to an eyewitness, the officers initiated gunfire and flash bangs from outside the house through Duncan's window without warning and while Lemp was sleeping. As of early July 2020, body camera footage had not yet been released, despite public record requests by Reason magazine and MuckRock. Police stated that Lemp had rigged a booby-trap device that was designed to "detonate a shotgun shell at the direction of anyone entering" the bedroom. "After officers entered the bedroom, the other occupant of the room warned the officers to be careful of the device rigged to the exterior door," and Montgomery County bomb-squad technicians were brought in to "render the device safe," police said. Three rifles and two handguns were recovered during the raid.
Aftermath
The Lemp family asserted that Lemp was asleep next to his girlfriend when a police officer shot him. "The Lemp family requests that the Montgomery County Police immediately release all body camera footage and audio from this horrific event," Lemp family attorneys said. The attorney stated that nobody in the house the morning of the shooting had a criminal record, but juvenile records would be sealed and therefore unavailable. The Lemp family released a statement that said, "The police had obtained a search warrant for the home, however the search warrant makes no mention of any imminent threat to law enforcement or the community. No resident of the home had any criminal record." As of May 11, 2020, the warrant application had not been made available to Lemp's family. After his death, Lemp became a "martyr" among some in the boogaloo movement who have speculated he was murdered for his participation with the movement and for his anti-government beliefs. On March 15, 2020 the United StatesTranshumanist Party announced an "official week of mourning" in his honor. As of July 2020, Lemp's killing was being investigated by the State's Attorney's Office of Howard County, under a mutual agreement with Montgomery County where prosecutors from each of the two adjacent counties investigate fatal police shootings in the other.
