Its an extremely top-down, chain-of-command organization, perfect for people who like to take orders, or give them. The Commonwealth's Attorney said the indictment in Jefferson County also includes three additional local law enforcement officers. All I want is 1 [million]. (According to the Census Bureau, 47 million Americans identify as Black or Black and another race. In 2020, however, it showed up in larger numbers (Jay claims thousands, but hundreds seems more realistic) at protests over Confederate monuments and over the killing of Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia; at protests over the police shooting of Breonna Taylor in Louisville, Kentucky; and at protests over the police shooting of Trayford Pellerin in Lafayette, Louisiana. WebGrandmaster Jay, the outspoken leader of the NFAC, has been convicted. I think thats a pretty significant indication There are 57 million of us here. Two photos were included in the court filing that allegedly shows Johnson aiming his firearm at the officers.Background: Case against militia leader 'Grandmaster Jay' heads to Jefferson County grand juryIn the federal indictment, Johnson's charges focused on two federal law enforcement charges. This GoFundMe was organized by his friend Eleanor Harvey, a native of Oakland, CA that now resides in the Inland Empire of Southern CA. A man calling himself Grandmaster Jay has raised a disciplined, heavily armed militia. Right-wing militias stormed Michigans capitol and were not arrested. Even facts as straightforward as his age are not simple to determine. LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - A presentation in front of a grand jury trial with the leader of a self-proclaimed militia organization has been delayed. But I knew he lived near Cincinnati: I had staked out his apartment that afternoon. "That was probably one of the first times in recent times that the appearance of African Americans dressed in combat-style gear, carrying semi-automatic weapons in a defensive posture was something that hadn't been seen in recent societies," he says. I saw that I had been socialized to believe that I was second-class, that there was something criminal inherent about me, he said. On January 6, the NFAC had no presence in Washington: The District of Columbia does not allow open carry of weapons. During the period after the First World War, when white mobs were shooting Black people and burning their businesses, many Black people considered peaceful protests (such as those organized by the NAACP) inadequate. Theres no cover there, one laments to a police officer. Hearst Television participates in various affiliate marketing programs, which means we may get paid commissions on editorially chosen products purchased through our links to retailer sites. Hearst Television participates in various affiliate marketing programs, which means we may get paid commissions on editorially chosen products purchased through our links to retailer sites. After basic training, the Army assigns every soldier a military occupational specialty, or MOS: 11B is an infantryman, 94S is a Patriot system repairer, 12K is a plumber. The NFAC formations in Louisville were large, but mostly peaceful and without issue. In our conversation, though, he made no direct reference to the mass murder of Jews and others, or to the lessons of totalitarian fascism. Time for the action, he said. Kelly Clarkson's Home Collection Is Up to 74% Off During Way Day Deals, The Best Wayfair Way Day Deals 2023 Starting at $30. He lost to Donald Trump and concluded, like most independent candidates, that America had rigged politics against him. In early December, the FBI raided his apartment and arrested him on charges that, during a September demonstration in Louisville, he pointed a rifle at federal agents, blinding them with its mounted light. Federally, he's charged with one count of assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers or employees and one count of brandishing a firearm in relation to a crime of violence in relation to the same incident.The NFAC formations in Louisville were large, but mostly peaceful and without issue. All rights reserved. The group advocates for black liberation and separatism. They stand in neat, spaced columns. Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. The NFAC is also interested in forming its own country - a place members can call their own. The state charges were heard in court May 25, where Kentucky District Judge Eric Haner said the case would be moved forward to a grand jury after multiple pieces of evidence showed probable cause. Right: Grandmaster Jay addresses a crowd of NFAC supporters from the steps of the Metro Building in downtown Louisville on July 25, 2020. Stories worth watching 16 videos. The best evidenceincluding court recordssuggests that he turned 57 in December. He said yes, but I pressed him to continue. Nor do most Americanslet alone most Black Americanswant to establish a racially pure state, even somewhere other than Wyoming. But Jay did not raise a militia by cultivating a tranquil persona, and the NFAC members who heeded his call at his craziest moments will not wait forever for him to revoke his stand-down order and recover his insanity. PublishedFebruary 2, 2022 at 4:24 AM EST. The coalition is larger than the older [white] militias. Four decades later, the activist Robert F. Williams wrote the classic text of Black armed resistance, Negroes With Guns, which argues that violence against Black people calls for violence by Black people. He has already planned an appeal to a verdict by a Louisville jury. His social-media accounts are frozen, and he faces a possible 20-year sentencewhich may or may not be a deterrent, if he thinks his end is near anyway. Case against militia leader 'Grandmaster Jay' heads to Jefferson County grand jury. Leader of the NFAC John Jay Fitzgerald Johnson, also known as Grand Master Jay, gives direction to members of the NFAC at G.G. Firearm Discussion and Resources from AR-15, AK-47, Handguns and more! Grandmaster Jay might have an easier time describing the group by saying what it is not: neither left or right, not anti-semitic, not a gun club and not a social club. While the inner workings of the militia areonly known to its leadership and key members, the total number of active participants in the organization is unknown, as well as where they are headquartered, or how they fund themselves. One objection to such a militia is that it is avowedly racist. Very interesting, Jay said, speaking slowly and deliberately for the first time since his performance that night had begun. At that point, for the first time, the conversation flowed more naturally. In a probable cause hearing on Wednesday, a judge decided that the state case surrounding that incident should head to a grand jury. Yet it is rarely good news when you learn that a sectarian racist is raising an army, stockpiling weapons, demanding total loyalty, and suggesting that he is a messiah. Jay speaks prophetically, and sometimes apocalyptically. Someone asked me the other day, they said, How is it that youve managed to do in six months what other people have not been able to do for 60 years? I would simply say that knowing the future doesnt help. Tommie Shelby, a professor of African American studies and philosophy at Harvard, noted that these ideas have precursors in Black political thought. He led a crowd of tens of thousands across the Arthur Ravenel Bridge to protest the mass shooting. The NFAC also appears to have tapped into a kind of modish authoritarian magical thinking. May 29, 2022 Updated May 29, 2022. Despite these travailsor because of themJay modeled the NFAC on the military in which he had served. Grand Master Jay, or John Fitzgerald Johnson, is accused of pointing an AR-style rifle at federal agents and police officers in downtown Louisville. Johnson, as the leader of the Not F****** Around Coalition, or NFAC, organized his group to meet in Louisville to protest the death of Breonna Taylor. Some people come to change the world, he said, and some come to end it all. The latter, he implied, are unwelcome in the NFAC and have to be screened out. Great Jones Cookware Review: Is It Worth Buying? The NFAC formations in Louisville were large, but mostly peaceful and without issue. ". By arresting Jay, the government took him out of circulation as a militia leader. John Fitzgerald Johnson, known as Grandmaster Jay, is the leader of the NFAC, self-described as a Black nationalist paramilitary organization. PHOTOS. On Wednesday, the Jefferson County Grand Jury returned an indictment on Johnson for five counts of wanton endangerment. At one point in our conversation, I thought I might have detected such a limit. In Louisville, just two hours from where Jay and I sat, the NFAC first revealed the extent of its capabilities. (That might explain his given name: He would have been born just nine days after the assassination of John Fitzgerald Kennedy.) He faces federal charges in Louisville for pointing a gun at people on a roof. But the transformation does not appear coincidental. Jay is contesting these allegations in court. In August 2003, according to the affidavit, Jay entered Fort Bragg and threatened to kill his wife (who was also a soldier) and her platoon sergeant at a recognition ceremony. Grandmaster Jay, the leader of an armed militia that took part in protests last year in Louisville, has been indicted on several counts of wanton endangerment for allegedly aiming a firearm at police officers.John Fitzgerald Johnson, known as Grandmaster Jay, is the leader of the NFAC, self-described as a Black nationalist paramilitary organization. That movement accomplished nothing, Jay told me, just a lot of singing, a lot of hand-holding, a lot of sentiments and praise.. John Fitzgerald Johnson, also known as Grand Master Jay, is facing state and federal charges for allegedly pointing a gun at Louisville Metro Police officers and federal agents while in Louisville last September. The cops took his rifles too. Led by Grandmaster Jay (John Fitzgerald Johnson), the NFAC has been posited as an eye for an eye organization, in opposition to those aforementioned organizations, and hasloudly called for Black citizens to arm themselves in the face ofwhite supremacy. John Johnson, a.k.a. WebJohn Fitzgerald Johnson, also known as Grand Master Jay and John Jay Fitzgerald Johnson, claims leadership of the group and has stated that it is composed of "ex military shooters." We dont understand why we have to be anti-somebody because we love our people. This is like majoring in five different subjects in collegenot technically against the rules, but rare and implausible. HE POINTED A RIFLE AT LOUISVILLE POLI OCEFFICERS. Grandmaster Jay says beyond trying to "police ourselves," he would like to work with local governments and community groups. (Source: Oldham County Detention Center), Surveillance images that federal authorities say show John Johnson (Grandmaster Jay) pointing a rifle at officers. His website, onlywecanfixus.com, advertised a bid for the White House on an independent ticket. Watching a mob storm the Capitol with a Confederate battle flag should freak out any American who hates racism, and inspire such a person to seek a radical cure for a deep political sickness. Among the small armory of assault rifles, they also found a prodigious amount of marijuana. The NFAC is a militia comprisedof Black members whose core is believed to be largely ex-military. Even if true, such threats hardly compare with the actual storming of the Capitol. Compare the NFACs military-style discipline, Jay said, with white militias. The Commonwealth's Attorney said the indictment in Jefferson County also includes three additional local law enforcement officers.Prosecutors said Johnson faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for the state charges. Ive lived five different lives, he told me, enigmatically. The latest breaking updates, delivered straight to your email inbox. He also ran as an independent in the 2016 presidential election. (He told his YouTube audience that he hated it: You all were the most uncivilized, undisciplined people I had ever seen.) He reenlisted in July 1998, but a year later he faced a court martial for another offense. On August 21, 2017, he witnessed the total eclipse of the sun while standing outside the city hall of Carbondale, Illinois. 'Grandmaster Jay' pleads not guilty to federal charges, due back in court in February, Pletcher's Forte, Tapit Trice are morning line favorites for Kentucky Derby 149. Wed spent an hour talking some sense, and a lot of nonsense; now the restaurant staff presented me with the bill and a doggie bag, and exiled us to the parking lot. But when you return to your timeline, nothing has changed! He continued. Anytime someone starts to galvanize people, its the same process: character assassination, then financial assassination through mounting legal bills, then imprisonment, exile, or outright murder. GMJ STORY. Jay claims that the NFAC first appeared publicly when nine white supremacists came to Dayton, Ohio, in May 2019. A Jefferson County grand jury will now decide whether to indict the leader of an armed militia for allegedly pointing his gun at officers during protests in Louisville.John Fitzgerald Johnson, known as Grandmaster Jay, is the leader of the NFAC, self-described as a Black nationalist paramilitary organization. He has also seemed to flirt with Holocaust denial. Grandmaster Jay Net Worth miclocksigca1973. Were not going to dig into who I am, he said. RELATED: NFAC leader 'Grandmaster Jay' facing state charges after allegedly pointing gun at officers Make it easy to keep up-to-date with more stories like this. One man has a Texas-flag patch Velcroed to his body armor; a woman taps the trigger guard of her AR-15 with a three-inch yellow fingernail. They are a lightning rod that attracts opposing groups, and thats a recipe for conflict., We have a zero-incident record, Jay boasted, mostly accurately. Im a student of history, he said. His group, armed with guns, moved into Louisville twice in the wake of Breonna Taylor's death for what they described as peaceful formations: Once in July and again the day before the 2020 Kentucky Derby in September.In December, Johnson was federally charged for pointing a rifle at Louisville Metro Police Department officers, FBI and Secret Service agents, who were on top of the Jefferson County Grand Jury Building. White people decided to act up and show us their true colors, Jay said. A patch on Grandmaster Jays body armor bore the new nations initials, UBKN. From that point on, he was spitting knowledge on social media, much of it about alien spacecraft (visitors) and odd phenomena he noticed in the sky. Updated: 5:01 PM EST November 9, 2022. But the desire for action of some kind, acknowledging that Black people are uniquely menaced, is to be expected. Millions Crab is a family restaurant, and on that placid November evening, Jaythe supreme commander of the Not Fucking Around Coalitionwas wearing body armor rated to take a pistol round directly to the chest. Armed self-defense has been around at least since Cyril Briggs, who founded the African Blood Brotherhood in 1919. Grandmaster Jay is firm when he says, "If you continue to offend us we will be prepared to defend ourselves.". CONTACT GMJ. Dont forget that you can do your part by visitingComplexs Pull Up & Votesitewhere you can double-check your registration, register to vote if you havent, and request a mail-in ballot. It has a militarylike structure, fields an army of hundreds of heavily armed men and women, subscribes to esoteric racist doctrines, opposes Black Lives Matter, and follows a leader who thinks we live in a period of apocalyptic tribulation signaled by the movements of celestial bodies. WebGrand Master Jay explains in 2016 interview why he was at the trump rally #NFAC. This may galvanize inquiring minds, but the road to becoming an actual member is fairly straightforward. The only way to win was to play a different game. A court date has been scheduled for April 25. But Jay has loyal followers, maybe in spite of these eccentricities, and maybe because of them. In 2008, according to the Anti-Defamation League, there were more than 500 militia groups, and the uptick in heavily armed protesters sincehas resulted in clashes aroundthe COVID-19 pandemic, keeping Trump in office, and police brutality. His platform consisted of mostly liberal platitudes, with an emphasis on diversity, police reform, support for veterans, and action on climate changealmost indistinguishable, he said, from Bernie Sanderss. Dalton Godbey joined WDRB News as a general assignment reporter in 2019 after spending two years reporting in Bowling Green. His group, armed with guns, moved into Louisville twice in the wake of Breonna Taylor's death for what they described as peaceful formations: Once in July and again during the 2020 Kentucky Derby in September.Months later, in December, Johnson was federally charged, accused of pointing a rifle during the September demonstration at LMPD, FBI and Secret Service agents, who were on top of the Jefferson County Grand Jury Building.According to the documents, the FBI reviewed the surveillance video from the incident, which consisted of real-time crime center camera footage. John Fitzgerald Johnson, known as Grandmaster Jay, is the leader of the NFAC, self-described as a Black nationalist paramilitary organization. Indeed, of the two of us, I was the one who felt sheepish, not because I was wasting his time but because it occurred to me that while I waited, I could have warned the servers that my dining companion was often armed and that he might look as if he had just stepped out of The Matrix. You wont get that from me. He said he wasnt from the Midwest. Hes expected in court on Thursday. Most soldiers have just one MOS over the course of their career; once the Army trains a soldier, why go through the expense of training him again? Last month,an organization stylized as NFAC UK participated with thousands of protesters who held an anti-racism rally outside the U.S.Embassy in London as Black Lives Matter demonstrations took place in cities across the U.K. The crime he is now charged with is a real onepointing guns at cops is illegal and wrongbut poor muzzle discipline and poor judgment are universal at armed protests, and I suspect that other armed protesters have performed equally negligent acts and gotten little more than a dirty look and a chewing out from the cops. Moore Park in Louisville, Kentucky, on September 5, 2020. Self-financed and focused, the NFAC,Grandmaster Jay says, is neither protesters nor demonstrators, explaining to Roland Martin in a July interview, We are a Black militia. He considers Germanys a genuine effort by society to restore and repair those people who were the victims of this Holocaust., Like so much else about Jay, this passion for European Jewry presents a contradiction: Elsewhere, he has quoted Hitler approvingly and suggested that the Jews of Europethose people running around calling themselves the Jewsare imposters. Jay told me that he already had to vet his recruits carefully. Eventually, it intends to establish a racially pure country called the United Black Kemetic Nation. In one video, as alleged in a criminal complaint against him, he tells his followers to burn government officials homes and murder their children. State wanton endangerment charges were dropped. Federally, he's charged with one count of assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers or employees and one count of brandishing a firearm in relation to a crime of violence in relation to the same incident. "We respond to situations where there's been a killing within our community, and law enforcement nor the legislature seem reluctant to give us the same level of assistance they give to people of other demographics in a timely fashion.". You have permission to edit this article. FBI agents arrested John Fitzgerald Johnson, the founder of the Not F**king Around Coalition who is also known as Grand Master Jay, Thursday at his home. Johnson served in the Virginia National Guard and the Army from 1989 to 2006, leaving at the rank of private. WebJohn Fitzgerald Johnson aka The Grand Master Jay has been targeted by the US Govt. That's where Grandmaster Jay was indicted on federal charges for brandishing a firearm, assaulting, resisting or impeding officers. Black Lives Matter is a failure, he explains. He is lithe enough to pass for being in his mid-40s. In the federal indictment, Johnson's charges focused on two federal law enforcement charges. Case against militia leader 'Grandmaster Jay' heads to Jefferson County grand jury. In his view, January 6 demonstrated that the NFAC is an appropriate response to a country shameless in its hypocrisy: If a disorderly white militia can sack the Capitol and get away with it, on what basis could one object to an orderly Black militia that obeys the law? Grandmaster Jay (center) says he urges the members of the NFAC to stay within the law, when demonstrating, unlike what happened on January 6. Ive visited the death camps. And we appear to be the target of an undeclared domestic war against African Americans.". Prosecutors say the flashlight was attached to the barrel of a rifle Johnson was pointing at the officers. According to Grandmaster Jay, the reasoning for the groups formation is simple. Grandmaster Jay, the leader of a Black militia called NFAC (Not F-cking Around Coalition) a name he says denotes the group's attitude spoke to Atlanta When I mentioned W. E. B. Our editorial content is not influenced by any commissions we receive. The NFAC then runs a background check on the potential member. [5] [6] It denies any connection to the Black Panther Party or Black Lives Matter. In the July gathering, three people were wounded when a firearm accidentally discharged ahead of the march.In just two days, May 28, it will be the one year anniversary since protests first filled the streets of Louisville in response to the deaths of Taylor, George Floyd and more. Background: Case against militia leader 'Grandmaster Jay' heads to Jefferson County grand jury. Two photos were included in the court filing that allegedly shows Johnson aiming his firearm at the officers. He wouldnt eat any food, but he requested a San Pellegrino or, in its absence, filtered tap water. The United States, he thinks, has failed to show the same backbone in reckoning with its crimes against Black people. Were watching. This strategic stand-down was not entirely voluntary, of course. There is no set future. Iron was a vital commodity, and Leonard was already thinking volume. He visited Auschwitz, he said, and was indelibly influenced by what he saw. Members of the Black paramilitary group attend protests heavily armed. According to the documents, the FBI reviewed the surveillance video from the incident, which consisted of real-time crime center camera footage. Grand Master Jay leads the NFAC, a national militia of armed Black people who came into Louisville multiple times in the wake of Breonna Taylor's death. Part of the process of creating a new country (under a treaty known as the Montevideo Convention) is demonstrating that enough people are eager to live there permanently and can administer the new state. You all are living in an alternate timeline. We dont come to chant. Instead they stand, like a praetorian guard for some unseen emperor. Ive studied the documents. Grandmaster Jay, the leader of an armed militia that took part in protests last year in Louisville, has been indicted on several counts of wanton endangerment for allegedly aiming a firearm at police officers. BOZICH | Who would have beaten Secretariat? You would sit that person down and have a word with him., Jay reappeared in 2015 as an ally of the movement he now denigrates, Black Lives Matter. JOHN JOHNSON, WHO GOES BY THE NAME GRAND MTEASR JAY, WAS IN LOUISVILLE TWICE PROTESTING THE DEATH OF BREONNA TAYLOR, INCLUDG ONIN DERBY DAY IN SEPTEMBER OF LAST YE.AR THE DAY BEFORE DERBY, PROSECUTORS SAY HE POINTED A RIFLE AT 5 LMPD OFFICERS POSITIONED ON THE ROOF OF A NEARBY BUILDING. The men and women are ragtag and amateur, and their uniforms are not, well, uniform. Yes, you can screw up things in that timeline. The Ohio Newsroom: A Public Media Collaboration, Reds TV changes could come by end of this week, Updated report shows Springfield Township officer's speed in deadly March crash, O'Bryonville changes its name to O'Piggyville. When the KKK decided to come to Dayton in May 2019, Grandmaster Jay said that wasn't right. But Im not. Grandmaster Jay hosts a series of IG Live talks with titles such as Facts Over Feelings,in which he expounds ontopics ranging from personal development to new developments involving the organization. Jefferson County grand jury indicts militia leader 'Grandmaster Jay', SAYS IT FULLY SUPPORTS NEW YORK CITYS VACCINE MANDATE FOR CITY WORKERS. Jay said he does not admire or imitate any Black activists from previous generationshe protested when I suggested a comparison to the Black Panthers, whose aesthetic the NFAC has obviously ripped offbut was quick to defend the Jamaican political thinker and activist Marcus Garvey, who called for Black self-sufficiency and attempted to found a homeland for Black people. He won't be able to post instructional videos for some time, because of the social-media ban that was a condition of his bail. John Fitzgerald Johnson, also known as Grand Master Jay, is facing state and federal charges for allegedly pointing a gun at Louisville Metro Police John Fitzgerald Johnson, known as Grandmaster Jay, is the leader of the NFAC, self-described as a Black nationalist paramilitary organization. I was there to escort Walter Scotts mother into the funeral. He said he was an ordained minister at the time. My time is scarce, he said, making aggressive eye contact. According to prosecutors with the Commonwealth's Attorney, the charges stem from Johnson and the militia taking part in a protest on Sept. 4, is 2020, in Louisville. A JEFFERSON COUNTY GRAND JURY CHARGED JOHNSON WITH 5 COUNTS OF. These people are screaming our name while theyre resisting," he said, although no such screams have been independently documented. Buy, Sell, and Trade your Firearms and Gear. Grandmaster Jay, leader of the NFAC. A lot of times when people talk about time travel, they always run into the paradigm If you change something in the past, then youll screw up your present. Jay shook his head. Updated: Jun. Grandmaster Jay is the head of the NFAC-- the Not F**king Around Coalition. Its not Black lives that matter anymore, he tells a crowd in an undated video. In this laconic way, they distinguish themselves from two groups they loathe or deride: white militias (the camo-bedecked guys who show up at the same demonstrations and, sometimes, at the behest of the president, try to topple American democracy) and Black Lives Matter, whose activists tend toward nonviolence. We dont come to sing, Jay told a reporter from Newsweek. WebThe official version of the biography of the Grandmaster Jay. [7] The United Black Kemetic Nation, he said, would have the full recognition of international law. WebThe Official Channel of The Official Grand Master Jay, Supreme Commander, NFAC He wore his trademark body armor and sunglasses in the summer heat and spoke grandly of self-defense, Black empowerment and the creation of a Black nation. His attorney argued that Johnson was using the light on his gun to see who was on the roof, but the judge says evidence shows he was aware it was police.In Jefferson County, Johnson is facing five counts of wanton endangerment, one for each person on the roof at the time. NFAC says it is the definition of a Black Militia and is the largest one in the U.S., with chapters in almost every city. Copyright 2021 WAVE 3 News. One hint that he is no longer a young man is a light smattering of age spots across his nose. Eleanor Harvey is organizing this fundraiser on behalf of JOHN JOHNSON. The first thing they have to do is submit their information to us via email, the Supreme Leader explains. Grandmaster Jay says he didnt knowingly point weapons at anyone. I was supposed to be dead two years ago, he told his followers. Jay previously argued that Black people, exercising their constitutional rights to speak and pack heat, would be treated differently from white people doing the same. He also said he had a health scare. GMJ MIXES & SONGS. LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - A presentation in front of a grand jury trial with the leader of a self-proclaimed militia organization has been delayed. They often carry semi-automatic weapons and wear body armor. Ironically, though, the governments confiscation of his weapons has proved at least one of Jays prophecies. Grandmaster Jay told The Atlanta Black Star that the group stood guard to prevent a repeat of the 1979 Greensboro Massacre, in which five people in North Carolina were shot and killed by Nazis and Klansmen as citizens gathered for the start of an anti-racism protest. Dressed from mask to shoes in black, he was four hours late to our meeting, and remorseless. I'm a title. There is no problem. Jay told me that all the allegations against him are bullshit. By bringing them up, federal prosecutors are trying to character assassinate him. Surely, though, there must be limits to what Jays followers can accept. He is a former soldier, a failed political candidate, a hip-hop DJ, a rambling egotist, and a prolific self-promoter.
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