Sister of security guard killed during George Floyd protests sues Facebook over Boogaloo movement
The sister of a California security officer who was gunned down amid protests sparked by the police-involved death of George Floyd has filed a lawsuit against Facebook, alleging the site’s algorithm pushed extremist content that ultimately contributed to her brother’s fatal shooting.
Dave Patrick Underwood was killed as he guarded the federal courthouse in Oakland on May 29, 2020, just days after 46-year-old Floyd’s deadly confrontation with Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin. Video of the incident, which shows Chauvin kneeling down on Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes, ignited outrage nationwide, including in California.
Authorities have since charged Steven Carrillo — an Air Force staff sergeant allegedly associated with the far-right, anti-government boogaloo movement — with murder in connection with Underwood’s slaying. According to a federal criminal complaint, the 53-year-old suspect connected with an accomplice through a Facebook group centered on the boogaloo movement before stoking violence outside the courthouse, where he also used his own blood to write “boog” on the hood of a car.
On Thursday, Underwood’s sister, Angela, filed a lawsuit in California state court against Meta, Facebook’s parent company, accusing the tech giant of neglecting to remove boogaloo-related pages until after her brother’s death — despite being fully aware the platform was being used for recruitment and the promotion of dangerous content.
Instead, the company ignored any risk for potential violence and focused on maximizing profits, according to the suit.
“The shooting was not a random act of violence,” the suit reads. “It was the culmination of an extremist plot hatched and planned on Facebook by two men who Meta connected through Facebook’s groups infrastructure and its use of algorithms designed and intended to increase user engagement and, correspondingly, Meta’s profits.”
Lawyers for the grieving sister also emphasized Carrillo would have never met his alleged accomplice, Robert Alvin Justus, Jr., had Facebook not recommend the latter join a Boogaloo group on Facebook.
Just hours before Underwood was killed, Carrillo allegedly shared a post with a Facebook group about his plans to attend the George Floyd protests in Oakland, where he would “show them the real targets. Use their anger to fuel our fire,” he allegedly wrote.
“We have mobs of angry people to use to our advantage,” Carrillo added, according to federal prosecutors.
Police said the men traveled to Oakland in a white ford van, from which Carrillo opened fire as they approached the courthouse. Justus is also facing charges in connection with Underwood’s death, including aiding and abetting for allegedly driving the vehicle, and attempted murder.
The lawsuit comes on the heels of bombshell claims made by Facebook employee Frances Haugen late last year. Like Underwood, Haugen claimed Facebook chooses to maximize profit and growth over public safety.
