July 4 (UPI) — Eleven men arrested after an armed, nine-hour standoff with Massachusetts police have been identified and charged one day later on Sunday.
The group describes itself as a militia called “The Rise of the Moors — The Moorish American Arms,” according to the Massachusetts State Police.
Each man arrested this weekend was charged with unlawful possession of a firearm, eight counts; 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.
The group was spotted refueling its vehicles with the guns allegedly in plain sight.
The men, who were dressed in military fatigues and body armor, were traveling from Rhode Island to Maine to participate in training exercises, the state agency said.
They allegedly did not have licenses for the weapons.
“You can imagine 11 armed individuals standing with long guns slung on an interstate highway at 2 in the morning certainly raises concerns and is not consistent with the firearms laws we have in Massachusetts,” Massachusetts State Police Colonel Christopher Mason told reporters on Saturday.
When officers approached the men, they claimed to belong to an organization that does not recognize U.S. laws.
The standoff began when some of the men ran into the woods with their weapons.
The incident shut down Interstate 95 for about six hours in both directions Saturday.
After they were apprehended, eight of the men were identified.
The ninth is 17, so his name was not released and two men refused to say who they are.
Those identified are:
- Jahmal Tavon Sanders Latimer (also known as Jahmal Talib Abdullay Bey,) 29, of Providence, R.I.
- Robert Rodriguez, 21, of Bronx, N.Y.
- Wilfredo Hernandez (also known as Will Musa,) 23, of Bronx, N.Y.
- Alban El Curraugh, 27, of Bronx, N.Y.
- Aaron Lamont Johnson (also known as Tarrif Sharif Bey,) 29, of Detroit, Mich.
- Quinn Cumberlander, 40, of Pawtucket, R.I.
- Lamar Dow, 34, of Bronx, N.Y.
- Conrad Pierre, 29, of Baldwin, N.Y.
