Readers sent me news about this incident, still fresh in the news.
A bizarre incident unfolded Saturday morning in Wakefield, Massachusetts. According to local police: “during a motor vehicle stop, several heavily armed men claiming to be from a group that does not recognize our laws exited their vehicles and fled into the woodline” near Interstate Highway 95.
The incident unfolded around 1:30 a.m. when a state trooper came across a group of 8 to 10 people refueling on the side of the I-95 highway in Wakefield, a suburb of Boston. The group was dressed in military-style uniforms, carried tactical gear like body cameras and helmets and had long guns slung over their shoulders.
They told officials they were on their way to Maine from Rhode Island for “training,” Col. Christopher Mason said.
Moorish American Indigenous Group is what they call themselves. Mass Troopers probably shat a brick and called everybody but grandma to deal with the “uppity armed Negros.” A bunch of black people travelling armed and doing nothing? “We can’t have that here. Next thing they will want fair elections and respect to the Bill of Rights.”
I am sure more details will be forthcoming, but always remember FOPA is worth shit in places like New Jersey, New York and and Masshole State.
Bailing into the woods when you’re not doing anything wrong is going to raise suspicions. Wearing the tactical gear ON THE WAY to “training” is going to raise suspicions.
Don’t want attention? Don’t do things to get attention.
Only listened to about half of it, but that guy does not sound like an extremist. Not exactly the sharpest tool in the shed when it comes to reading human nature, but he sounds reasonable.
This entire incident does strike me as open carry on steroids. Just because you can, does not mean you should.
Also, for someone who claims they are not anti government, and who can refer to US Code and SCOTUS cases, he seems willingly ignorant of the 10th Amendment, and State sovereignty. Mass, as a sovereign State, has every right to enact more restrictive firearm laws than the Federal Government. Obviously, as long as they are in line with the 2nd Amendment and case law, etc… (IANAL)
I have not driven to/through Mass for almost 30 years, but I do remember seeing signs as you crossed the border from NY saying you MUST tell the police you are bringing a firearm into the State. (Even if you are just passing through.) If these guys got hassled by the cops, I would guess it is because they had out of state tags, and were in possession of guns.
It is not unreasonable for the police to 1.) check out a car stopped on the side of an interstate, 2.) ask the occupant whether their possession of guns is in compliance with State laws.
Odds are, Mr. Tacticool here started spouting off about 18 USC 925 and Supreme court decisions instead of just answering the question. Net result, the group has to flee into the woods instead of driving away without a problem.
I’ve mentioned the various “Moorish American” groups in previous comment threads. There’s several dozen (probably more) splinter groups, subfactions, and off-shoots that can make it very difficult to say anything about them in general… But they are almost universally Anti-Semitic, Anti-Capitalist, Homophobic, Black Supremacists with weird delusional conspiracy theories about history, theology, and science.
Having said that… I’m kinda on their side in this instance.
As noted, they were from RI and in MA where you need a permission slip from the State to even hold a firearm.
My guess is they were spotted at the gas station and someone called the cops.
As Rob noted: if you don’t want attention, don’t attract it.
In Massachusetts you need a LTC or Firearms owner permit, don’t remember the name, in order to possess a firearm, ammunition or ammunition component.
The Federal law that let’s you transport through a state is often abused by Massachusetts, NJ, NY, and other states. Stopping for gas is enough to prove you are not transporting *through* the state. So those guys were in violation of state law when the ran out of gas and stopped.
Yes, I always tell my friends not to carry any firearm into MA, ever.
Apart from that, doesn’t the “transport through” rule require the weapon to be locked up in the car and unloaded? Open carry when you step out of the car doesn’t fit that limitation.
@phoning: Yes, the firearm(s) need to be secured and out of your control.
Also, you need to be in legal possession at both ends of your journey.
Also, also, the MA S J C ignored Heller until forced to acknowledge it by SCOTUS in Caetano v MA (stun guns),
That’s what I thought.
Last night’s TV news had a piece about this event. They made a fairly large production about it, complete with lots of bystander interviews — people were quite freaked out by the “shelter in place” order the police put out. They also showed the arrests, which were entirely without fuss.
Lastly, they mentioned that “weapons” charges were likely. That would fit given that MA makes it hard to own weapons, especially if you’re out of state (and no, they don’t do reciprocity).
In an update from the state police there were 10 men and one 17yo. 7 were arrested. Everybody “got home safely” (not sure rotting in a cell is “home”) and 7 guns were recovered.
Yep, 7 guns between 11 people is considered heavily armed in the state of Massachusetts.
Their crime was carrying firearms without government permission.
CBS Boston: 11 People Charged After Standoff In Wakefield On I-95; 8 Publicly Identified By Police.
https://boston.cbslocal.com/2021/07/03/11-arrested-charged-armed-standoff-i-95-wakefield-rise-of-the-moors/
Believe the laws apply to you or not, standing around in MA on the side of the highway displaying arms for no reason is stupid tactically.
Did anyone also catch the characterization of body cameras as tactical gear?
If I were stuck behind those dumb fucks on 95 for 11 hours I would have been tempted to drive up and end it myself! Fuck those guys. /Internet tough guy.
It’s been entertaining to watch TV news coverage of these people. Last night there was some reporting about their arraignment. A number of friends and relatives came to the court room for that and were interviewed outside. One of them was talking a lot about Constitutional rights and all that.
The only thing I can think of that MA can throw at them and make stick is violation of their draconian gun licensing laws. If they had done exactly the same thing in NH there wouldn’t have been a problem at all, not with legal open carry and Constitutional Carry for all. Unfortunately you can’t go from RI to ME without passing through MA…
So it seems they are basically guilty of letting their ideology get in the way of common sense. I’m very much tempted to argue that gun rights organizations should take up their case, as a way to try to break MA gun laws. Not to mention that it would blow the minds of all the left wing racists who claim that we gun owners are all dumb rednecks.