Fourth militia group member pleads guilty to murder investigation obstruction, conspiracy

A fourth member of a far-right, anti-government militia group pleaded guilty Monday, joining three others who admitted to conspiring to obstruct justice by destroying records connected to the investigation of the murder of one federal officer and the attempted murder of another officer at the Oakland federal building May 29, 2020.

With his guilty plea, Kenny Miksch, 21, of San Lorenzo, joins his three fellow members of the Grizzly Scouts militia group: Jessie Rush, 29, of Turlock; Robert Blancas, 33, a Bay Area resident; and Simon Ybarra, 23, of Los Gatos.

Prosecutors say the group is connected to the “boogaloo” movement, a term used by some militia extremists to describe a loose-knit movement advocating for an impending politically-motivated civil war or uprising against the government.

In their plea agreements filed with the court, each man admitted that in April 2020 they joined an armed, anti-government militia group named the “1st Detachment, 1st California Grizzly Scouts.”

Each acknowledged in their plea agreements that they learned a Grizzly Scouts member was allegedly involved in the May 29, 2020 murder of a federal security officer and the attempted murder of another officer in Oakland. Each defendant also admitted that this same scouts member claimed to be involved in an attack and shootout with Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s deputies in Ben Lomond on June 6, 2020.

Each of the defendants admitted to conspiring with other group members to destroy the records of their interactions and communications on WhatsApp and details of the group in documents on Dropbox — including a non-disclosure agreement requiring members to maintain confidentiality — because they foresaw authorities would investigate and prosecute that Grizzly Scouts member.

Blancas pleaded guilty to the conspiracy on Aug. 23, as well as to a separate charge of enticing a minor to send him pornographic images of herself.

Rush and Ybarra pleaded guilty on Sept. 13 and Miksch entered his guilty plea Monday.

All four face a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000 for conspiracy to destroy records in an official proceeding, according to prosecutors. Blancas also faces an additional penalty of a minimum of 10 years imprisonment to a maximum of life in prison and a maximum $250,000 fine for the child pornography charge.

The cases are being prosecuted by Eric Cheng and Frank Riebli from the Special Prosecutions Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California, with assistance from the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section. The prosecutions are the result of investigations by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.