Former Boise Police Chief Found To Have Ties To White Supremacist Group
A retired police chief in Boise, Idaho has been found to have extensive ties to groups with white supremacist views. His connections include being scheduled to speak at an American Renaissance Conference held by a group allegedly known for having demeaning thoughts of Black people, according to the Idaho Statesman.
Matthew Bryngelson recently retired after 24 years in the Boise Police Department. However, Bryngelson appeared on the speakers’ list for the Renaissance conference under the pseudonym Daniel Vinyard. It’s a name shared by a neo-Nazi skinhead character in the 1998 film “American History X.” American Renaissance is a website that has posts pointing towards “white superiority and arguments that people of color are inherently less intelligent than white people and contribute more to crime and other societal ills.”
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Bryngelson’s affiliation with this group didn’t just happen. There were ties with American Renaissance throughout his law enforcement career. A video chronicled a discussion between Bryngelson and founder Jared Taylor where the former police chief describes Black citizens as criminals who “the sound human mind can’t even comprehend … let alone carry them out.”
From the Idaho Statesman:
The men later discuss cases of Black men killed by police officers — including Michael Brown and George Floyd — and argue that those killings would not have occurred if Black people complied with police.
Bryngelson laments that police public image has led to difficulty hiring and retaining police officers. This is also the subject of his talk at the conference, titled, “The Vilification of the Police and What it Means for America.”
In a July 31, 2021, blog post under the Vinyard pseudonym, Bryngelson stated he picked the northwest city because it was primarily white. He also said Black police officers, including those at the Northwest agency, “were underachievers whose white counterparts ranked above them.”
Boise Mayor Lauren McLean immediately denounced the findings.
This weekend, I learned of retired Boise Police Department officer Matt Bryngelson's participation in a white nationalist conference and his ongoing contributions to racist, dehumanizing propaganda.
— Mayor McLean (@boisemayor) November 20, 2022
“The fact that such an individual could serve in the department for two decades is appalling,” McLean said. “The people of Boise deserve a police department worthy of their investment and trust, and we are launching a full investigation accordingly.”
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