Six of the men associated with a Black sovereign citizens group have been ordered held without bail pending their trial on multiple weapons charges.
They are among the ten men and one juvenile affiliated with the group "Rise of the Moors" who were arrested over the July 4th weekend, after an hours-long, armed standoff with Massachusetts State Police troopers on Interstate 95.
The ruling that the six be held without bail followed a nearly 8-hour dangerousness hearing in Malden District Court.
“Although we call this a dangerousness hearing, what I am actually called upon to decide is whether or not the Commonwealth has proven by clear and convincing evidence that there are no conditions of release that would reasonably assure the safety of the community,” said Malden District Court Judge Emily Karstetter from the bench.
“I’m not certain what conditions I could set that would do so given what their brief history here in the Commonwealth here on July 3 demonstrates to me. And so, they are ordered held without bail.”
The judgement came just before 5pm, after what Karstetter called “a long day.”
The four other adult defendants will receive a dangerousness hearing on Tuesday.
The proceedings, which started in the morning, were quickly bogged down with frequent interruptions and short recesses, as Judge Karstetter presided over a sometimes-chaotic hearing for multiple defendants, a number of whom refute the court’s authority and have chosen to represent themselves.
By the afternoon, most of the defendants had agreed to accept standby, or advisory, counsel to help them understand the court process, and proceedings moved forward for six of the 10 adults facing multiple weapons charges.
At issue today was whether the men present a danger to the public and therefore should be held without bail pending their trial, something prosecutors were seeking.
“We’re not dangerous.” said defendant Jamhal Tavon Sanders Latimer, a.k.a. Jamhal Talib Abdullah Bey at one point during the hearing. “There is no need for us to be here in chains.”
Twice the courtroom lights were dimmed, and video evidence was broadcast for the whole courtroom to see.
The first video, put forth by the prosecution, was more than 30 minutes of footage from a police body camera taken during the hours-long encounter that prosecutors described as a “standoff.”
“The [defendants’] conduct is serious. It involves weapons. It involves militia-like training. It involves transporting these guns through the state,” said assistant Middlesex District Attorney Graham Van Epps. “And when confronted by legitimate law enforcement authority and the laws of this state it involves digging in your heels and saying no. We will not disarm.”
The second video was presented by the defendants. In it, one could be heard repeatedly invoking his consitutional right to bear arms, noting multiple times that the group is “not anti-police, not anti-government, not sovereign citizens, and not Black identity extremists.”
Ultimately Judge Karstetter sided with state.
Earlier in the day, three defendants were granted a continuance until Tuesday to give them more time to review the state’s evidence against them and gather their own to present.
They'll be joined by another defendant who has so far refused to identify himself, and has been ordered to do so by Tuesday.
A probable cause hearing is set for August 9.
