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The Moorish sovereign citizen movement, sometimes called the indigenous sovereign citizen movement or the Rise of the Moors, is a small sub-group of sovereign citizens that mainly holds to the teachings of the Moorish Science Temple of America, in that African Americans are descendants of the Moabites and thus are "Moorish" by nationality, and Islamic by faith.[1]

History

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During the 1990s, the Moorish sovereign citizen movement was started by former followers of the Moorish Science Temple of America and the Washitaw Nation.

Beliefs

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Members believe the United States federal government to be illegitimate, which they attribute to a variety of factors including Reconstruction following the U.S. Civil War and the abandonment of the gold standard in the 1930s.[2] The number of Moorish sovereign citizens is uncertain but possibly ranges between 3,000 and 6,000 organized mostly in small groups of several dozen.[3] Moorish sovereign citizens, who consider that black people constitute an elite class within American society,[3] are in the paradoxical situation of using an ideology which originated in a white supremacist environment.[4]

In addition to the Moorish Science Temple doctrine that Black Americans are of Moorish descent, Moorish sovereign citizens claim immunity from U.S. federal, state, and local laws,[5] because of a mistaken belief that the Moroccan–American Treaty of Friendship (1786) grants them sovereignty.[2][6] In reality, the 1786 treaty was primarily a trade agreement.

Some also believe that Black Americans are indigenous to the United States.[7] The Moorish sovereign citizen movement has also expanded to include a few whites.[8]

The Southern Poverty Law Center classifies Moorish sovereign citizens as an extremist anti-government group.[3][9] Tactics used by the group include filing false deeds and property claims,[10] false liens against government officials, frivolous legal motions to overwhelm courts, and invented legalese used in court appearances and filings.[2] Various groups and individuals identifying as Moorish sovereign citizens have used the unorthodox "quantum grammar" created by David Wynn Miller.[11] An article syndicated by the Associated Press states that the Moorish Science Temple of America has disavowed any affiliation with those responsible, calling them "radical and subversive fringe groups" and also states that "Moorish leaders are looking into legal remedies." The article also quotes an academic who has been advising authorities on how to distinguish registered Temple members from impostors in the sovereign citizen movement.[12]

Incidents

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Some "Moorish" activists have practiced hostile possession of properties, citing "reparations" as a justification for their actions, even though their victims included other Black Americans.[13] In June 2021, Hubert A. John, a self-identified citizen of the Al Moroccan Empire, was arrested and charged with counts of criminal mischief, burglary, criminal trespass and terroristic threats after he occupied a house in Newark, New Jersey, claiming that it fell into the jurisdiction of the Al Moroccan Empire.[14][15]

In 2005, musician Roy "Future Man" Wooten pleaded guilty to income tax evasion, after having been indicted on charges in 2001 that he had not filed or paid taxes between 1995 and 1998.[16] He was affiliated with the Washitaw Nation, and before his guilty plea had been judged possibly incapable of assisting in his own defense after filing incomprehensible sovereign citizen paperwork with the court.[17]

In 2016, Washitaw Nation affiliate Gavin Eugene Long ambushed six police officers and killed three of them in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Police killed Long in the resulting confrontation.[3] A Rise of the Moors member had earlier been arrested in Danvers, Massachusetts, in 2019 on an outstanding warrant. He alleged his arrest was unlawful and filed a federal lawsuit against the police, which was dismissed after he tried to pay the court fees with a silver coin, saying U.S. currency was unconstitutional because it was "not backed by anything of value".[18]

In July 2021, eleven male individuals identifying themselves as a group called Rise of the Moors were arrested on Interstate 95 in Wakefield, Massachusetts, after a state trooper responding to disabled vehicles allegedly found the group carrying long guns, side-arms and wearing tactical body armor. Police said the group claimed to be traveling from Rhode Island to Maine for "training" on their privately owned land.[19][20][21] An Instagram account belonging to the group says its goal is to continue the work of Noble Drew Ali.[22]

On August 23, 2023, 63-year-old William Hardison Sr. opened fire on Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania law enforcement officers attempting to serve an eviction notice on him for occupying a former family home that had been sold after the death of the original owner.[23][24] Over a hundred rounds were fired between Hardison and multiple officers in the city's Garfield neighborhood.[25] The standoff lasted several hours before Hardison was eventually shot dead by police.[26] The shooting started at 11 a.m. and ended at around 5 p.m, and was described by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette as "perhaps the biggest gun battle in [Pittsburgh's] history".[27][28] Over 70 police officers were placed on leave over the incident, pending investigation by higher authorities.[29] Hardison was a self declared Moorish sovereign citizen.[24][30][31]

References

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  1. ^ Gomez, Michael A. (2005). "Chapter 6: Breaking Away – Noble Drew Ali and the Foundations of Contemporary Islam in African America". Black Crescent: The Experience and Legacy of African Muslims in the Americas. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press. pp. 200–217. doi:10.1017/CBO9780511802768.008. ISBN 9780511802768. LCCN 2004027722.
  2. ^ a b c Ligon, Mellie (2021). "The Sovereign Citizen Movement: A Comparative Analysis with Similar Foreign Movements and Takeaways for the United States Judicial System" (PDF). Emory International Law Review. 35 (2): 297–332. ISSN 1052-2840.
  3. ^ a b c d "Moorish Sovereign Citizens". Southern Poverty Law Center. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  4. ^ Cash, Glen (26 May 2022). A Kind of Magic: The Origins and Culture of 'Pseudolaw' (PDF). Queensland Magistrates’ State Conference 2022. Retrieved 22 October 2022.
  5. ^ Hauptman, Max (4 July 2021). "What to know about Rise of the Moors, an armed group that says it's not subject to U.S. law". The Washington Post.
  6. ^ "Treaty with Morocco". U.S. National Archive. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
  7. ^ Pitcavage, Mark (18 July 2016). "The Washitaw Nation and Moorish Sovereign Citizens: What You Need to Know". Anti-Defamation League.
  8. ^ Sovereign Citizen Movement, Anti-Defamation league, retrieved 23 January 2022
  9. ^ Morrison, Heather (6 July 2021). "'Rise of the Moors' classified as antigovernment group by Southern Poverty Law Center". MassLive.
  10. ^ Steinback, Robert (20 July 2011). "Judge Ignores 'Martian law,' Tosses 'Sovereign Citizen' Into Slammer". Southern Poverty Law Center. Retrieved 9 September 2012.
  11. ^ Anti-Defamation league (2016), "The Sovereign Citizen Movement Common Documentary Identifiers & Examples" (PDF), adl.org, retrieved 23 December 2021
  12. ^ "Bogus court filings spotlight little-known sect Moorish Science Temple of America". syracuse. Associated Press. 28 July 2011. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
  13. ^ "She Bought Her Dream Home. Then a 'Sovereign Citizen' Changed the Locks". The New York Times. Retrieved 21 September 2021.
  14. ^ "LA Man Arrested for Allegedly Taking Possession of Woman's Vacant New Jersey Home". NBC New York. 22 June 2021. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
  15. ^ Niemietz, Brian (25 June 2021). "Black nationalists declare 'legal residency' in Newark woman's home, police disagree". Daily News. New York. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
  16. ^ "Flecktone, once part of 'Empire Washitaw De Dugdahmoundyah,' guilty of tax fraud – Nashville Post". Nashville Post. Retrieved 11 January 2018.
  17. ^ "Take a tax protester position on your return: are you out of your mind?". Roth & Company, P.C. 5 May 2004. Archived from the original on 28 February 2005. Retrieved 31 May 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  18. ^ Alanez, Tonya (8 July 2021). "Rise of the Moors member sued Danvers police, then sought to pay filing fees with a silver coin". The Boston Globe.
  19. ^ Hilliard, John; Crimaldi, Laura; Milkovits, Amanda; Lyons, Jack (3 July 2021). "Group of men involved in hours-long highway standoff expected to face 'a variety of charges'". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  20. ^ Crimaldi, Laura; Milkovits, Amanda (3 July 2021). "What is 'Rise of the Moors,' the R.I. group that broadcast live from the I-95 standoff?". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  21. ^ "Photos, video: the Interstate 95 standoff". The Boston Globe. 3 July 2021. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  22. ^ "Massachusetts armed group arrested after stand-off with police". BBC News. 3 July 2021. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
  23. ^ Williams, Colin (15 September 2023). "After tragedy, Garfield leaders say they need housing resources". Pittsburgh City Paper. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
  24. ^ a b Guza, Megan (24 December 2023). "Public safety and criminal justice – and the perceptions of both – gripped Pittsburgh in 2023". The Daily Item. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
  25. ^ Borrasso, Jennifer (27 September 2023). "Death of Pittsburgh man who died during Garfield standoff ruled a homicide". CBS News. Retrieved 14 January 2024.
  26. ^ Grant, Teddy; Shapiro, Emily (23 August 2023). "Suspect dead after 'active shooting situation' in Pittsburgh neighborhood, authorities say". ABC News. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
  27. ^ "Sheriff says officers were serving eviction notice when things 'escalated tremendously'". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. 23 August 2023. Archived from the original on 24 August 2023. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
  28. ^ Guza, Megan; Wereschagin, Mike (28 August 2023). "A 2019 traffic stop offered a glimpse into the Garfield shooter's anti-government views. The standoff reflects a wider trend". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Archived from the original on 27 August 2023. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
  29. ^ Mokay, Erica (24 August 2023). "75 officers on leave after 'thousands' of shots fired in Garfield standoff". CBS News. Retrieved 14 January 2024.
  30. ^ McGee, Noah A. (25 August 2023). "After Black Man Was Dies In A Violent Standoff With Pittsburgh Cops, We Ask: What's a Sovereign Citizen?". The Root. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
  31. ^ Sheehan, Andy (24 August 2023). "Who is William Hardison? Suspect in Garfield standoff held sovereign citizen beliefs". CBS News. Retrieved 14 January 2024.
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