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. Through these efforts, the NFAC encourages Black citizens with the means and ways to take advantage of the Second Amendment and their right to responsible gun ownership. That's where Grandmaster Jay was indicted on federal charges for brandishing a firearm, assaulting, resisting or impeding officers. 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. 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. During Friday's hearing,Judge Jennifer Wilcox ordered Johnson to have no firearms or deadly weapons while the case is pending. Additionally, hes a former director of a global cloud integration practice and solutions architect, according to his campaign site. They often carry semi-automatic weapons and wear body armor. Jefferson County grand jury indicts militia leader 'Grandmaster Jay', SAYS IT FULLY SUPPORTS NEW YORK CITYS VACCINE MANDATE FOR CITY WORKERS. Grandmaster Jay is clear when saying his group doesn't protest. It recreated itself. CRAWFORD | Not skipping ahead: Setting the scene for Kentucky Derby 149, will Forte reign? John Fitzgerald Johnson, known as Grandmaster Jay, is the leader of the NFAC, self-described as a Black nationalist paramilitary organization. John Grandmaster Jay Johnson lives in West Chester and leads NFAC, which stands for the Not F***ing Around Coalition. 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. (Source: Probable Cause Affidavit / FBI). In a probable cause hearing on Wednesday, a judge decided that the state case surrounding that incident should head to a grand jury. 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." On one end, it means the establishment of an infrastructure that can assist in being the framework for community, self-policing, and the protection of our own communities and our race. And on the other end, the NFACs ultimate goal will be in the facilitating of the exodus from this country of those who are willing to leave to go someplace else, where racism is not an issue. Over Zoom, he expressed his sincere intent of enabling Black Americans to determine their own destiny, determine their own economy, defend their own homeland, and build their own culture.. He visited Auschwitz, he said, and was indelibly influenced by what he saw. The NFAC formations in Louisville were large, but mostly peaceful and without issue. A month later, the police raided his apartment. 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. Youve always had a demographic of veterans and grown adults who are law-abiding citizens who are responsible gun owners who understand the Constitution., According to Grandmaster Jay, the mission of the NFAC is two-fold. John Fitzgerald Johnson, who also is known as Grandmaster Jay, is the enigmatic founder of the Not Fucking Around Coalition. At some point he got married, though he refused to say more about his domestic life. 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. The latest breaking updates, delivered straight to your email inbox. Updated: 5:01 PM EST November 9, 2022. You may have seen its members demonstrating where African Americans have died at the hands of police in places like Louisville and Georgia. According to Jay, Were not here to attack anyone. I think thats a pretty significant indication There are 57 million of us here. Surely, though, there must be limits to what Jays followers can accept. They expected to be led by a commander who preaches radical separatism, and who will swagger with an AR-15 in public and boast that his snipers can bisect a white militiamans head from 1,000 yards away. Ultimately, Jay calls for descendants of the Portuguese and Atlantic slave trade to separate themselves from others and create a Black ethnostate. Some sources say he is as young as 50, others as old as 59. If he is indicted, he could stand trial. As Jay browsed real estate, he also made overseas allies, he said, in Black-liberation movements in Africa and Europe. HE POINTED A RIFLE AT LOUISVILLE POLI OCEFFICERS. In meetings prior to the incident, FBI Public Corruption and Civil Rights Task Force Sergeant Chris Lane said Johnson had been told multiple times officers would be on rooftops and to not point firearms, as it would be perceived as a threat. He has also seemed to flirt with Holocaust denial. As he looks ahead to this year, Grandmaster Jay says, Maybe things have calmed down just a little bit that we can now hear each other, and we can now talk., Grandmaster Jay doesnt have a problem with police and government if there is fair and equitable distribution and application of the law., Should things begin to move into the red, he says, We have a responsibility to address those per the Constitution if it means to peacefully assemble.. Grandmaster Jay is firm when he says, "If you continue to offend us we will be prepared to defend ourselves.". There are multiple futures depending on the timeline that you set in motion. He said one cannot really change the pastjust mint a new timeline. Just remember that when Im gone, these will be your instructional videos.. Laws, he told me, are just paper, and it is only reasonable that Black people arm and train themselves to act as an immediate bulwark against the continued human-rights abuses perpetrated against them. 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.. 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. 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. Black Lives Matter was the forefront of the pro-Black movement until it was hijacked by other entities, so it does not represent the will or the sentiment of the Black nation. (A sample lyric from one of his hip-hop songs: They call you racist if you proud of your folks / But they be muting you now if you forget about the Holocaust!), Jays videos repeat several themes popular among anti-Semitic segments of the Black Hebrew Israelites, a religious movement known for noisy proselytizing and elaborate conspiracy theories. Case against militia leader 'Grandmaster Jay' heads to Jefferson County grand jury. The group advocates for black liberation and separatism. Like a Rubiks Cube.. Jay posted a video from Louisville showing white militia members expressing concern that the NFAC would annihilate them. All rights reserved. Im not at liberty to discuss those. I asked if he felt obliged to oaths of secrecy sworn to the U.S. military that had twice expelled him from its ranks. 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. LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - A presentation in front of a grand jury trial with the leader of a self-proclaimed militia organization has been delayed. The tradition of armed resistance persisted even as the civil-rights movement succeeded by rejecting this fearful symmetry: Martin Luther King Jr., Bayard Rustin, and John Lewis showed that Black people without guns were much more formidable. WebThe Not Fucking Around Coalition ( NFAC) is a black nationalist militia part of the militia movement in the United States. Members of the Black paramilitary group attend protests heavily armed. 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. 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. 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. "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.". 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. 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. According to the documents, the FBI reviewed the surveillance video from the incident, which consisted of real-time crime center camera footage. 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. According to the documents, the FBI reviewed the surveillance video from the incident, which consisted of real-time crime center camera footage. But when you return to your timeline, nothing has changed! He continued. Ann Thompson has decades of journalism experience in the Greater Cincinnati market and brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to her reporting. 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. They joined a group that promised to take a bite out of the Earth and reserve it for Black people. LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The leader of the Black militia group known as the NFAC pleaded not guilty to federal charges in court on Friday. And we appear to be the target of an undeclared domestic war against African Americans.". john johnson, who goes by the name grandmaster j. we to guilty this morning to five counts of wanton endangerment. The official version of the biography of the Grandmaster Jay. Because of Jays patrilineal theory of race, he would presumably recognize a smaller number still.). Two photos were included in the court filing that allegedly shows Johnson aiming his firearm at the officers. But Jay told me that when he floated Wyoming to his followers, their response was: Hell nonobody wants to go to Wyoming. (Shelby notes that the desire to establish a Black homeland on American territory likewise has a long history, showing up in Harry Haywoods book Negro Liberation in the 1940s and the Republic of New Afrika movement in the 60s and 70s.). Grandmaster Jay. When you buy a book using a link on this page, we receive a commission. Download the WHAS11 News app now. May 29, 2022 Updated May 29, 2022. 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. He could say anything, do anything, and somehow survive. So he and others showed up to the demonstration. 2023, Hearst Television Inc. on behalf of WLKY-TV. I counted 28 rows of seven before I stopped counting. 00:00 / 04:31. John Fitzgerald Johnson, known as Grandmaster Jay, is the leader of the NFAC, self-described as a Black nationalist paramilitary organization. Thats the kicker. When I mentioned W. E. B. Case against militia leader 'Grandmaster Jay' heads to Jefferson County grand jury. Were not going to dig into who I am, he said. 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. 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. NFACs leader Grand Master Jay describing how he will build his black ethnostate inside the United States. 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 said yes, but I pressed him to continue. Year: 2020: ONE Super Series [28] Afterwards, the group marched and left. 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. When Grandmaster Jay walked into Millions Crab, a seafood joint in suburban Cincinnati, the waitstaff looked alarmed. At that time, LMPD officers at the scene received a radio transmission stating that a group of "six to eight heavily armed individuals" were parked on Armory Place, near a parking garage, according to court documents. In 2016, he emerged again, wearing a dark business suit with a black tie, pocket square, and large wristwatch. 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. I was there to escort Walter Scotts mother into the funeral. He said he was an ordained minister at the time. Right: Grandmaster Jay addresses a crowd of NFAC supporters from the steps of the Metro Building in downtown Louisville on July 25, 2020. 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. He lost to Donald Trump and concluded, like most independent candidates, that America had rigged politics against him. Meanwhile, Jay acquired a record of violence. But even those who originally joined with peaceful intent can become jaded, given enough time, injustice, and absentee leadership. We dont understand why we have to be anti-somebody because we love our people. 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. PublishedFebruary 2, 2022 at 4:24 AM EST. Grandmaster Jay, leader of the NFAC. Like Garveys, Jays rhetoric calls for Black self-reliance and segregation from white people. He left the Army in 1997 but despised civilian life.