Accused 'boogaloo' member, arrested in Las Vegas protests, faces child exploitation charge

LAS VEGAS (FOX5) -- A man charged in May with two other accused "boogaloo" members now faces an additional charge of child exploitation.

U.S. Attorney Nicholas A. Trutanich, along with the FBI and Las Vegas Metropolitan Police announced Wednesday that Stephen Thomas Parshall was charged in separate criminal case for one count of sexual exploitation of children. 

According to court records, police found 10 pictures of child pornography and "numerous images of child erotica" on Parshall's cell phone.

Parshall could face between 15 and 30 years in prison, with a possible $250,000 fine. A court date for the child exploitation charge has not been scheduled.

U.S. prosecutors said Parshall, 35, Andrew T. Lynam Jr., 23, and William L. Loomis, 40, have ties to a loose movement of right-wing extremists advocating the overthrow of the U.S. government. Authorities said the men hoped to carry out a plan to create civic unrest by capitalizing on protests over businesses closed due to the coronavirus and later, the death of George Floyd.

Parshall, Lynam and Loomis, all white men with U.S. military experience, each currently face two federal charges: conspiracy to damage and destroy by fire and explosive, and possession of unregistered firearms. They also face charges of felony conspiracy, terrorism and explosives possession in state court.

They were arrested May 30 as they prepared to attend a protest of Floyd’s death after filling gas cans at a parking lot and making Molotov cocktails in glass bottles, prosecutors said in charging documents.

In the bed of Parshall’s truck, the FBI found strips of red rags and gasoline, according to a police arrest report. Inside the truck were aerosol cans and weapons.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.