11
5
The self-proclaimed leader of the Rise of The Moors group who was arrested along with 10 other heavily armed men following a police standoff in Massachusetts on Saturday has been identified as a man who believes himself to be the 'grand chief of Rhode Island.'
Jahmal Latimer, who also goes by the title Talib Abdulla Bey, cofounded the militia group which claims to be a non-profit educational organization based out of Rhode Island.
The group, which flies the Moroccan flag, is centered on the belief that its followers are the 'aboriginal people' of the US and takes its teachings partly from a religious sect known as the Moorish Science Temple.
Latimer and the Rise of the Moors have a large social media presence, with more than 16,000 subscribers to the group's YouTube channel, in which the leader posts videos showing off firearms and discussing 'the constitution.'
In one video, posted last month and obtained by CBS Local, Latimer is seen boasting about having three guns as he held a rifle and loaded it.