Moors Group Planned To Take Over House In Pawtucket

PAWTUCKET, RI — Two of eleven suspects arrested in an armed standoff with Massachusetts State Police on Interstate 95 in the town of Wakefield on Saturday morning hail from Rhode Island and are members of a Moorish sovereign identity group that planned to take over a foreclosed multi-family home in Pawtucket.

Jamhal Tavon Sanders Latimer (also known as Jamhal Talib Abdullah Bey), 29, of Providence and Quinn Cumberlander, 40, of Pawtucket, were among those arrested and charged Saturday, according to a joint statement from state police and the Middlesex District Attorney's Office.

The nine others are Robert Rodriguez, 21, of the Bronx; Wilfredo Hernandez (also known as Will Musa), 23, of the Bronx; Alban El Curraugh, 27, of the Bronx; Aaron Lamont Johnson (also known as Tarrif Sharif Bey), 29, of Detroit; Lamar Dow, 34, of the Bronx; Conrad Pierre, 29, of Baldwin, New York; a male teenager, 17; and two men who refused to identify themselves to police.

The men are all charged with unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of ammunition, use of body armor in commission of a crime, possession of a high capacity magazine, improper storage of firearms in a vehicle, and conspiracy to commit a crime, according to the statement. Four of the suspects are also charged with giving police a false name.

The incident started around 1:30 a.m. Saturday when a trooper noticed a group of men trying to fuel their vehicles in the breakdown lane, Massachusetts State Police Col. Christopher Mason said. The men were wearing military fatigues and body armor while carrying rifles and handguns, police said. The group told police they came from Rhode Island and were heading to Maine for "training," Mason said.

95 southbound reopened. Northbound remains closed. Sweeps of vehicles and woodline ongoing. https://t.co/WZozMnx6EU
— Mass State Police (@MassStatePolice) July 3, 2021

The standoff lasted several hours, and a portion of I-95 southbound was closed to traffic until around 10:47 a.m., when MSP sent out a tweet. 1-95 northbound remained closed for the investigation. Nearby residents in Wakefield and Reading were told to shelter in place. Police said some men initially ran into the woods.

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One suspect streamed portions of the standoff to a YouTube channel called "Rise of the Moors." The suspect, who stated his name as Bey, insisted that the group is peaceful and not anti-government. The man claimed the group was lawfully passing through Massachusetts with firearms. The man made repeated reference to an 1878 treaty between the Empire of Morocco and the United States.

None of the men arrested Saturday had licenses to carry firearms, state police said. Police so far have seized eight guns, including three AR-15 rifles, two pistols, a bolt-action rifle, a shotgun, and a short barrel rifle. Police said they were seeking additional search warrants.

The men were held at the Billerica House of Correction on $100,000 bail and scheduled for arraignment in Malden District Court. The juvenile was set to be released into parental custody.

The Two Rhode Island Men

Neither Bey nor Cumberlander appear to have a prior arrest record in Rhode Island. But federal court records show that in 2019, Bey sued members of the Providence Police Department.

23 Acorn Street, Providence, RI (Google Maps)

In his self-penned federal complaint, Bey claimed that on Oct. 10 of that year, he was on the third floor of 23 Acorn Street "lecturing as usual on Moorish science, history, law, civics, religion and nationality." He said he was streaming on YouTube and had a semi-automatic rifle around his neck and a Glock 22 on his waist "to relay a message to other Moorish nationals that we can be intelligent, peaceful and still practice our religious right to bare (sic) arms."

Bey claimed that Providence police showed up at the address and attempted to enter the building without a search warrant. He wrote that the police officers eventually went away. In his complaint — which was eventually dismissed by the court — Bey argued that police were conspiring to deprive "Moorish Nationals" of their constitutional right against unlawful search and seizure. He further argued that Providence police "lacked jurisdiction over our nation."

Bey in 2019 also filed civil litigation in an apparent effort to quash bank foreclosure of a home at 44 Carr St. in Providence. An exhibit attached to Bey's lawsuit — also filed in federal court — identifies the property owner as "Felicia J. Sanders." Among other things, Bey argued that he and other "heirs to Felicia's estate" are "Moroccan citizens" subject to 19th-century treaties between Morocco and the United States. Bey appeared to argue that banknotes not backed by gold or silver are not valid.

The group seems to have been planning a move to Pawtucket. The Rise of the Moors website says their classes are on hold pending "transfer into a new building" at 339 Broadway. The group announced they have "successfully claimed an abandoned home for our benefit as a people" through the mechanism of adverse possession.

Adverse possession is simply "taking whats yours (sic) and not waiting for anyone to give it to you," the website states.

339 Broadway in Pawtucket, RI. (Mary Serreze/Patch)

The large wooden apartment building at 339 Broadway is a foreclosed property owned by Midfirst Bank, city land records show.

On Sunday morning, the house appeared to be vacant, and a notice was taped to the door. The notice stated the property was under the management of "Guardian Asset Management" of Levittown, Pennsylvania. Interested parties were directed to the website HudHomeStore.com.

"When it is available for sale, arrangements to view/inspect may be made through any realtor of your choice," the notice read.

According to The Washington Post, the Rise of the Moors is based in Pawtucket and one of 25 active anti-government sovereign-citizen groups identified in 2020 by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

The Anti-Defamation League in 2016 said the Moorish sovereign citizen movement began when people melded sovereign citizen beliefs with some of the beliefs of the Moorish Science Temple, a religious sect dating to 1913.