Rakem Balogun, whose legal name is Christopher Daniels, is an American activist, best known for his involvement in a

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-related incident that occurred on December 12, 2017, which became headline news in the United States.

Background

Balogun enlisted as a

US Marine The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the Marines, maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expedi ...

in 2001 and served in the

Iraq War The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with 2003 invasion of Iraq, the invasion by a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition, which ...

in 2003. Balogun cites his time serving in the US Marine Corps as alienating due to the behaviour and racial attitudes of white officers, and left the Marine Corps 3 years into an 8-year contract on an "Other Than Honorable" discharge .Simek, Peter (October 2018). Balogun became a founding member of groups such as Guerrilla Mainframe in 2016 after a fallout with the Huey P. Newton Gun Club which he allegedly co-founded in 2014, both based in

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Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

. Balogun cites the killing of unarmed black men by police officers as the motivation for creating these groups. In 2016, Balogun distanced himself from the Huey P. Newton Gun Club, as he felt it had become too influenced by New Black Panther Party (also based in Dallas), which he identifies as being a

Black Separatist Black separatism is a race-based separatist political movement that seeks separate economic and cultural development for people of sub-Saharan African descent in societies, particularly in the United States. Black separatism stems from the idea ...

organisation, something which clashed with his

Socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

outlook. However, during a 2019 interview on ''Klepper'', Balogun is seen leading a demonstration including several participants in Huey P. Newton Gun Club paraphernalia.

2017 arrest

In November 2017, agents found out Balogun was in possession of a firearm, compelling a warrant for his arrest, because he was a prohibited person, due to a domestic violence conviction for assault against his ex-girlfriend. Balogun was startled awake in his

home by a large crash and police officers screaming commands on December 12, 2017, when he and his 15-year-old son were forced outside of their Dallas home dressed only in their underwear. Balogun was handcuffed and learned FBI agents were investigating

domestic terrorism Domestic terrorism or homegrown terrorism is a form of terrorism in which victims "within a country are targeted by a perpetrator with the same citizenship" as the victims.Gary M. Jackson, ''Predicting Malicious Behavior: Tools and Techniques ...

and had been monitoring him for years for posts on

criticizing police and praising Micah Johnson, the perpetrator of the

2016 shooting of Dallas police officers On July 7, 2016, Micah Xavier Johnson ambushed and shot police officers in Dallas, Texas, killing five, injuring nine others, and wounding two civilians. Johnson, a 25-year-old Army Reserve Afghan War veteran, was angry over white police sh ...

. Balogun's firearm violation as well as his posts were cited as grounds for Balogun's arrest. According to Balogun he was exercising his right to free speech when he praised Johnson, and was not endorsing violence against individual police officers, but a general struggle against the Dallas Police Department. The event made worldwide news due to Balogun being the first person to be publicly designated a " Black Identity Extremist" by the FBI, sparking a national debate on the appropriateness of that term. In May 2018, Balogun had all charges dropped against him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Balogun, Rakem 2017 controversies in the United States Activists for African-American civil rights American civil rights activists United States Marine Corps personnel of the Iraq War Anti-black racism in Texas December 2017 in the United States Police brutality in the United States American socialists