Prosecutors say the flashlight was attached to the barrel of a rifle Johnson was pointing at the officers. On January 6, the NFAC had no presence in Washington: The District of Columbia does not allow open carry of weapons. Two federal officers and three LMPD officers then went to the top of the nearby Jefferson County Grand Jury Building to watch the group, but were blinded by a flashlight when they leaned over the roof, the affidavit claims. Somehow, after all of this, Jay reenlisted that December, this time as an Army reservist. 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. Unlike the NFAC, they were flagrantly breaking the law and, for a time at least, getting away with it. Members of the Black paramilitary group attend protests heavily armed. HE POINTED A RIFLE AT LOUISVILLE POLI OCEFFICERS. Texas News NFAC Grand Master Jay (YouTube) Shortly after a Black militia group, that calls itself the 'Not F**king Around Coalition' (NFAC) made an appearance at Stone Mountain, Georgia, a video of their 'Grand Master' became viral, asking for 'a Black nation'. That includes defending it. WebThe Official Channel of The Official Grand Master Jay, Supreme Commander, NFAC That movement accomplished nothing, Jay told me, just a lot of singing, a lot of hand-holding, a lot of sentiments and praise.. The cops took his rifles too. 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. John Fitzgerald Johnson, who also is known as Grandmaster Jay, is the enigmatic founder of the Not FuckingAround Coalition. He will be formally arraigned Monday.The NFAC formations in Louisville were large, but mostly peaceful and without issue.In the July gathering, three people were wounded when a firearm was accidentally discharged ahead of the march. Thank you for supporting The Atlantic. He wouldnt eat any food, but he requested a San Pellegrino or, in its absence, filtered tap water. I'm a description. HOME. 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. In Jay, NFAC followers have a leader who conjured an army ex nihilo, announced a Black uprising in multiple American cities, and somehow got away with it for months. PublishedFebruary 2, 2022 at 4:24 AM EST. It allegedly happened just after 8:30 p.m., as officers were conducting surveillance of demonstrators at Jefferson Square in downtown Louisville. 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. So he and others showed up to the demonstration. You may have seen him and members of his group in cities where African Americans have died at the hands of police and others. 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. Thats not what we do., With the NFAC united under his guidance, he describes the groups ethos asan element that has always existed within America, as heshared with The Atlanta Black Star last month. WebJohn Fitzgerald Johnson aka The Grand Master Jay has been targeted by the US Govt. 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. Jay told me that all the allegations against him are bullshit. By bringing them up, federal prosecutors are trying to character assassinate him. He is a former soldier, a failed political candidate, a hip-hop DJ, a rambling egotist, and a prolific self-promoter. The NFAC leaders real name is John Fitzgerald Johnson. According to the documents, the FBI reviewed the surveillance video from the incident, which consisted of real-time crime center camera footage. Jay would not accept a foot soldier who showed up for inspection unarmed. 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. 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. Some sources say he is as young as 50, others as old as 59. Firearm Discussion and Resources from AR-15, AK-47, Handguns and more! (Don't worry, its temporary), Challenges to books at Ky. libraries tripled in 2022 amid national jump in attempted bans, How the Telugu immigrant community is instilling their culture in the next generation, Richmond, Ind., residents sue owner of property where massive industrial fire occurred, This Mt. At some point he got married, though he refused to say more about his domestic life. 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. You wont get that from me. He said he wasnt from the Midwest. '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. Time for the action, he said. 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. He said that the NFAC was born out of the atmosphere created by Donald Trump, not out of a spiritual revelation. 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. 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. Im a student of history, he said. Instead, he mentioned that he was impressed by postwar Germanys decision to outlaw Holocaust denial and the glorification of Nazism. Unless you have a deep, personal, hands-on experience with the past.. In Germany, Jay was treated with the utmost respect, and he said he enjoyed a reprieve from the American racial hierarchy. The latest breaking updates, delivered straight to your email inbox. He managed to get his name on 47 state ballots, running under the progressive platform of racism, womens rights, and economic equality as its three pillars. They often carry semi-automatic weapons and wear body armor. Ive visited the death camps. 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. In our conversation, though, he made no direct reference to the mass murder of Jews and others, or to the lessons of totalitarian fascism. He left the Army in 1997 but despised civilian life. During Friday's hearing,Judge Jennifer Wilcox ordered Johnson to have no firearms or deadly weapons while the case is pending. LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- "Grandmaster Jay," who was accused of pointing a rifle at a 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. Nor do most Americanslet alone most Black Americanswant to establish a racially pure state, even somewhere other than Wyoming. We sat in Jays SUV, which soon filled with pleasant Cajun aromas from the scallops. Hes expected in court on Thursday. Thats the kicker. 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. 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. To demonstrate its power, Jay said, the NFAC aims to assemble, in one place, a million legal [Black] gun owners, to show that the United Black Kemetic Nation can defend itself. Eventually, it intends to establish a racially pure country called the United Black Kemetic Nation. Washington man isn't going on a vacation. I had five MOSs, Jay said. 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. The U.S. government is going around cleaning up all of those other organizations, he said. It recreated itself. A JEFFERSON COUNTY GRAND JURY CHARGED JOHNSON WITH 5 COUNTS OF. Moore Park in Louisville, Kentucky, on September 5, 2020. Two photos were included in the court filing that allegedly shows Johnson aiming his firearm at the officers. In his second interview with WVXU in less than a year, the head of a national Black militia group is looking forward to unity in 2022 but cautions it will be hard without equality. 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. "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.". (That might explain his given name: He would have been born just nine days after the assassination of John Fitzgerald Kennedy.) In the federal indictment, Johnson's charges focused on two federal law enforcement charges. Grandmaster Jay is clear when saying his group doesn't protest. (Source: Oldham County Detention Center), Surveillance images that federal authorities say show John Johnson (Grandmaster Jay) pointing a rifle at officers. But my goodness, the weaponryAR-15s galore, sniper rifles with scopes and bipods, high-capacity magazines, and enough tactical clothing to resupply an Army-surplus store. 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. Outside of thenegligent gun discharge from July, the NFAC has argued that theLGBTQ+ agendais responsible for the Black Lives Matter movements failings. With Black members of the LGBTQ+ community being ostracized and subjectedtowhite terrorism, one hopes that the NFAC is not fucking around when it comes to advocating for all Black people. But Jay has loyal followers, maybe in spite of these eccentricities, and maybe because of them. The Commonwealth's Attorney said the indictment in Jefferson County also includes three additional local law enforcement officers. After his final discharge, Jay disappeared for several years. John Fitzgerald Johnson, also known as Grand Master Jay, is facing state and federal charges for allegedly pointing a gun at Louisville Metro Police Public order is the hostage of the most radical gunman present. In Louisville, just two hours from where Jay and I sat, the NFAC first revealed the extent of its capabilities. We live in a world where racism is appearing to rear its ugly head again the way it did back in the Jim Crow days, he tells Complex via Zoom. The group, for the most part, is well run (some use an accidental firearm discharge as an example of its lack of organization), with all of its public actions being coordinated with law enforcement and local governments, which has resulted in no known violence. When I spoke with him after January 6, he still slipped into periodic fits of rage at the impertinence of my questions, but he stressed that the NFAC is peaceful and wants to open up a dialogue and stabilize the situation.. 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. I'm a title. Grandmaster Jay has gone out of his way to make it known that the NFAC has no affiliations or ties to Black Lives Matter. Military experience is preferred, Jay said, and would-be coalition members must have their own AR-style rifle. Johnson is accused of pointing a rifle at Louisville Metro Police officers and federal officers the night before the 2020 Kentucky Derby, according to a probable cause affidavit. But the transformation does not appear coincidental. LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - A presentation in front of a grand jury trial with the leader of a self-proclaimed militia organization has been delayed. He will be formally arraigned Monday. Johnson served in the Virginia National Guard and the Army from 1989 to 2006, leaving at the rank of private. Tommie Shelby, a professor of African American studies and philosophy at Harvard, noted that these ideas have precursors in Black political thought. Great Jones Cookware Review: Is It Worth Buying? I saw that I had been socialized to believe that I was second-class, that there was something criminal inherent about me, he said. Few paid attention until Jay showed up with dozens of armed followers in Georgia last year, and phrased his new beliefs in a militant idiom. Plenty of Trump supporters believed that their man had a mystical ability to outwit his opponents and bend previously unbendable laws of politics. 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. 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. Amid explosive racial tensions, the vast majority of the NFACs visibility is a product of social mediaparticularly Instagram. Jay said the accusations were a misunderstanding, but he also suggested to me, in a peculiar and indirect way, that he had made certain mistakes. 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. When you buy a book using a link on this page, we receive a commission. The NFAC is a militia comprisedof Black members whose core is believed to be largely ex-military. In the July gathering, three people were wounded when a firearm was accidentally discharged ahead of the march. The first public appearance of the NFAC was at a KKK rally in Dayton, Ohio, in 2019. 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. Kelly Clarkson's Home Collection Is Up to 74% Off During Way Day Deals, The Best Wayfair Way Day Deals 2023 Starting at $30. The far-right patriot movement has long been a fringe factor in American politics, as racial upheaval, police brutality, and a not-so-hidden agenda from President Donald Trump have paved the way for wide-scale growth of the ideological militia movement. 00:00 / 04:31. PHOTOS. The group is called the Not F---ing Around Coaliton (NFAC). 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. We dont come to sing, Jay told a reporter from Newsweek. They include defending the Black community, being responsible firearms owners and educating and fostering unity. But I knew he lived near Cincinnati: I had staked out his apartment that afternoon. Grandmaster Jays group, the NFAC, is a Black militia whose goals, other than to abjure Fucking Around, are obscure. WebGrandmaster Jay, the outspoken leader of the NFAC, has been convicted. (Many still believe this.) Ann Thompson has decades of journalism experience in the Greater Cincinnati market and brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to her reporting. His goal, he said, is for the Black race to come into its ownwhich it has notand to mature as a race, first by building racial esteem. He said Black people have been like the guy who sleeps on your couch that doesnt go home until you have to throw the couch out with him. If they get armed, and get serious, they will no longer have to blame the non-melanated for their failure. Grandmaster Jay. In Jefferson County, Johnson is facing five counts of wanton endangerment, one for each person on the roof at the time. He named four but refused to identify the fifth. 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. A court date has been scheduled for April 25. 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. The NFAC formations in Louisville were large, but mostly peaceful and without issue. Year: 2020: ONE Super Series [28] Afterwards, the group marched and left. Because of Jays patrilineal theory of race, he would presumably recognize a smaller number still.). At that point, for the first time, the conversation flowed more naturally. One of the biggest shows of arms and unity from the NFAC came on July 4, 2020, Americas Independence Day. He told me that he spent four years in the Army in Germany, where he revised his racial self-understanding. Photos from the funeral show Jay wearing an Anglican-style clerical collar and holding Judy Scotts left arm. Case against militia leader 'Grandmaster Jay' heads to Jefferson County grand jury. Right-wing militias stormed Michigans capitol and were not arrested. 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. 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. Kelly Clarkson's Home Collection Is Up to 74% Off During Way Day Deals, The Best Wayfair Way Day Deals 2023 Starting at $30. 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. The NFAC formations in Louisville were large, but mostly peaceful and without issue. Ive lived five different lives, he told me, enigmatically. NFACs leader Grand Master Jay describing how he will build his black ethnostate inside the United States. Other groups, as far as their movements, we dont really have a position on, but we are specifically adding that we will not be identified with the Black Lives Matter movement., The verdict has yet to come in. After the murder of Walter Scott by a North Charleston police officer, he appeared at the side of Scotts family. Grandmaster Jay, leader of the NFAC. Jay posted a video from Louisville showing white militia members expressing concern that the NFAC would annihilate them. When Jay orders his people into motion, they go. Just remember that when Im gone, these will be your instructional videos.. [5] [6] It denies any connection to the Black Panther Party or Black Lives Matter. WebGrand Master Jay explains in 2016 interview why he was at the trump rally #NFAC. Compare the NFACs military-style discipline, Jay said, with white militias. "At that moment I thought it was time for us to stand up (and) stop talking about it, because apparently there was some other program running in America that we didn't get the memo on. Its not Black lives that matter anymore, he tells a crowd in an undated video. 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. WebThe Not Fucking Around Coalition ( NFAC) is a black nationalist militia part of the militia movement in the United States.

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