Baton Rouge shooter Gavin Long may have been in far-right sovereign citizen group.

[pnwmom]

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/multiple-baton-rouge-police-officers-killed-shooting-attack-article-1.2714761

The gunman was identified by CBS as Gavin Eugene Long. Multiple reports linked Long to homegrown hate groups. The Wall Street Journal, citing sources, said he belonged to an antigovernment group called the New Freedom Group. MSNBC reported he belonged to a different group, called the Sovereign Citizens.

Authorities were investigating whether the shootout was an ambush carried out by Long, of Missourri, with the help of others, MSNBC said.

https://mic.com/articles/148961/gavin-eugene-long-named-as-suspect-in-killing-of-three-police-in-baton-rouge#.AsLjT2nzA

Little is known about Long or his motivations at this time, but Baton Rouge police have faced weeks of protests over the lethal shooting of black man Alton Sterling in early July. Sterling was shot multiple times while pinned by two police officers. Days later, another black man named Philando Castile was shot by Minnesota police. A peaceful Black Lives Matter demonstration over both shootings in Dallas was then struck by a gunman who opened fire on police, killing five officers and wounding nine others.

However, MSNBC's Pete Williams reported one person of interest in the current investigation may be a member of the sovereign citizen movement, a far-right movement alleging they are exempt from most U.S. laws. The Wall Street Journal, citing an anonymous source, reported Long may have been affiliated with an organization called the New Freedom Group.


http://www.wsj.com/articles/more-than-one-police-officer-shot-in-baton-rouge-1468768712

[pnwmom]

2. Thanks!

[dhol82]

3. So, it was a white guy?

Just asking.

[pnwmom]

4. No. There are reportedly a small number of African Americans in the group. n/t

[dhol82]

5. How could an AA be a member of the

Sovreign Citizens group?

[pnwmom]

8. Lots of people do things that don't make sense.

https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/ideology/sovereign-citizens-movement

The movement is rooted in racism and anti-Semitism, though most sovereigns, many of whom are African American, are unaware of their beliefs' origins. In the early 1980s, the sovereign citizens movement mostly attracted white supremacists and anti-Semites, mainly because sovereign theories originated in groups that saw Jews as working behind the scenes to manipulate financial institutions and control the government. Most early sovereigns, and some of those who are still on the scene, believed that being white was a prerequisite to becoming a sovereign citizen. They argued that the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, which guaranteed citizenship to African Americans and everyone else born on U.S. soil, also made black Americans permanently subject to federal and state governments, unlike themselves.

......
Recruits
In the late 2000s and early 2010s, most new recruits to the sovereign citizens movement are people who have found themselves in a desperate situation, often due to the economy or foreclosures, and are searching for a quick fix. Others are intrigued by the notions of easy money and living a lawless life, free from unpleasant consequences. Many self-identified sovereigns today are black and apparently completely unaware of the racist origins of their ideology. When they experience some small success at using redemption techniques to battle minor traffic offenses or local licensing issues, they're hooked. For many, it's a political issue. They don't like taxes, traffic laws, child support obligations or banking practices, but they are too impatient to try to change what they dislike through traditional, political means.

[dhol82]

10. Interesting.

[Nevernose]

9. Every now and then you see a black person proudly waving a confederate flag

Or marching with the Tea Party, and even with racist Socereign Citizen groups. They're "the good ones" though, so not a lot of racism is directly aimed at them. Neither monorities nor racists are monolithic; there's a lot of nuance sometime.

[dhol82]

11. Wow.

Just wow.

[George II]

21. SPLC says there are many AA members of the Sovereign Citizens Movement

"The movement is rooted in racism and anti-Semitism, though most sovereigns, many of whom are African American, are unaware of their beliefs' origins."

https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/ideology/sovereign-citizens-movement

[Nevernose]

29. Trust me: I was "involved" with the Sovereign Citizens & militias in the early 90s

I lived with my best friend when I was a young man, and his parents helped found our local militia. If I had a nickel for every time I heard about flags with fringes mean it's a maritime court, or not how not going past the audience seats in a court room meant that the court had no authority over you, I would be a rich, rich man.

A couple of the guest speakers were Art Bell and Bo Grites, of those names ring a bell (both of the live/lived near Las Vegas).

I don't remember any black people at the meetings, but I remember their being an unusually high percentage of third and fourth and more generations of Latinos. My friend's dad -- one of the cofounders -- was Mexican American.

Honestly, though, mostly it was about my friend and I getting high and sitting in the back of the meetings. We coordinated with our pot dealer, on a calendar, so we could get high, sit in the back of the meetings, and snicker at the lunacy.

[Person 2713]

33. Art Bell

[Nevernose]

6. Sovereign Citizens are people like the Bundy Clan &

The people who took over the Malheur Wildlife Refuge.

If true, unexpected and weird. I mean, they've only got like four black members.

[RandiFan1290]

7. They are known to kill police in hopes of starting their 'revolution'

Just like Jerad and Amanda Miller did after hanging out at the ranch with the Bundys.

[enough]

13. An interesting fact that tends to get forgotten. (nt)

[George II]

22. See #21 above

[KingFlorez]

12. I recall when DHS warned about these types of groups

This was a long time ago when Obama's first term was just beginning. DHS backed off the report when conservatives threw a fit, but incidents like this one show that the report included accurate warnings. Far-right extremists hate police officers, but those extremists can fly far under the radar because they are often white.

[MagickMuffin]

14. Thanks Obama

I believe the CPU chief needs to apologize for his reckless comments. The police unions really need to place the blame where it belongs and take responsibility for their LEO's actions that lead to the deaths of innocent unarmed citizens.

Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, as well as the Cleveland police union chief Steve Loomis, both blamed the president for the shootings on Sunday.

No, chief you are to blame. Be a man and put on your big boy pants and own to your bigotry!

[Dreamer Tatum]

15. His YouTube channel tells quite a different story

Quite.

[pnwmom]

16. Link?

[Dreamer Tatum]

18. The link would be the story here, not the shooters video

If you look, you'll find.

[pnwmom]

19. I went to you tube and typed in his name, and saw no video done by the shooter.

So what are you talking about?

[Dreamer Tatum]

20. Someone posted the link nt

[grossproffit]

23. Here:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCV3kJdRXOJcbkKvRiRKfXkA/videos

[oberliner]

17. Zero evidence of this

And the article says a "person of interest" was affiliated with that group, not the shooter (according to one reporter, with no confirmation or evidence provided).

[B2G]

24. But boy were people hoping. Nt

[Dreamer Tatum]

25. Let the spinning commence nt

[Kingofalldems]

37. Spinning goes both ways.

[Dreamer Tatum]

38. I'm adult enough to accept facts as they appear.

I don't require spinning.

[Kingofalldems]

41. And this isn't?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10028020443#post31

[grossproffit]

26. You noticed that too?

[KMOD]

30. I think people are searching for motive.

Not sure what you think people are hoping for.

[Crepuscular]

27. ...

If the shooter is the same guy as featured on the you tube feed linked above, he said that he was a former member of the Nation of Islam but that he was no longer affiliated with them or any other group.

[Travis_0004]

28. He was also a nation of islam meber

[Dreamer Tatum]

31. Was. Was. You'll be told he was. Not IS, WAS.

As we all know, leaving a group completely absolves you of any adherence you may have had to any tenets, activities, or exploits of that group.

That's a law that was written about 20 minutes ago, apparently.

[Kingofalldems]

39. So what is your solution?

I see you go after DUers about this subject. Attack attack attack. And sarcasm.

What should the US do?

[seabeyond]

43. You go after people not having facts. Then when facts don't work for you, you go after

People who are telling you facts.

Interesting.

Me? I am listening to everyone before jumping on an agenda.

[Dreamer Tatum]

44. huh? The facts are what they are.

I accept them.

Others don't: when the prevailing theory was that he was in the Sov Citizen movement, it was RW this and RW that. I didn't say a word until the YouTube stuff became apparent and the narrative has shifted from the shooter as a RW loon to a mentally ill man. Funny how fast the sands shift.

I'm simply scared that this will happen many more times before it stops happening. And yes, I am also afraid that some murderous cop will kill another unarmed man and the pot will be stirred even more.

[KMOD]

32. If that was him on the youtube,

he said former member, and "do not associate me with them."

He also shows clear signs of mental illness.

Edit to add: I'm referring to the person in the video.

[B2G]

34. What clear signs are those?

He sounds completely lucid.

[KMOD]

36. believing that the government was stalking him.

[GusBob]

35. Conversations with Cosmos

The guy never shut up once

He's manic

[KMOD]

40. Yes. That twitter feed was very strange.

I also noticed that most of his tweets had little or no reaction. No likes, no responses.

[Joe the Revelator]

42. Not if you believe this is him

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCq-7gsAWRK0zFUklum6Wapw/videos

[Cha]

45. Thank you for more information on this, pnwmom.