Man with alleged ‘Boogaloo’ ties charged with threatening California official

A California man with alleged ties to the extremist anti-government Boogaloo movement is charged with sending 24 threatening letters to a top county health official, court and police records show.

Alan Viarengo, 55, of Gilroy, is facing felony counts of stalking and harassing a public official for letters police say he sent to Santa Clara County Health Officer Dr. Sara Cody over the past five months, according to court and police records obtained by NBC Bay Area.

“F–k all authority,” Viarengo allegedly wrote in one letter. “Enjoy the Boogaloo!”

Cody started receiving harassing letters after she issued a shelter-in-place COVID-19 order in March, according to a police report. Her home address was also shared online, prompting the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office to provide her a personal protection detail, police said.

Investigators were not overly concerned for Cody’s safety, however, until late June – when a letter addressed to Cody arrived at the county health department with an igloo where the return address would be and the phrase “Let’s Boogie” scrawled above, police said.

“I’m glad you are getting threats,” the anonymous letter read, according to the police report. “I posted your residence everywhere I could; I hope someone follows through.”

Investigators believe the same person is responsible for a total of 24 threatening letters mailed to Cody between early April and late July, including some that criticized law enforcement officials and featured a sketch of a middle finger, police said.

“We are stronger than you pigs in every way,” another letter read. “We are out to defeat you.”

Detectives then watched Viarengo drive a Tesla Model 3 to a mailbox on July 29 and put a letter addressed to Cody inside that mocked Cody’s handling of the pandemic, police said.

Viarengo — who teaches mathematics part-time at Gavilan College in Gilroy, according to its website – was later arrested on Thursday, jail records show.

Viarengo, who appeared in a Santa Clara County court Monday, posted bail Friday but was remanded back into custody by a judge, NBC Bay Area reports.

Detectives found a large cache of weapons and explosives at Viarengo’s home during his arrest, including more than 100 guns and tools for manufacturing ammunition. Investigators also found potential assault rifles and Confederate flags, court records show.

An attorney for Viarengo, meanwhile, insisted his client was a “law-abiding” citizen and a “dedicated father” who respects the “rule of law and the Constitution.”

“At this time we have allegations,” attorney Cody Salfen said in a statement. “Allegations are not facts. Very few facts, if any, have been provided by the District Attorney’s Office about the law enforcement activities in this case.”

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