What Do We Know About the Armed Group Involved in a Standoff With Police?
Police are continuing to negotiate with a group of heavily armed men who refused to comply with police Saturday morning, resulting in the shut down of busy Interstate 95 and shelter-in-place orders for parts of Wakefield and Reading. The group of between eight to 10 men were reportedly in two cars stopped in the breakdown lane on I-95 in Wakefield with their hazard lights on around 1:30 a.m. when police stopped to assist them. Police said the responding trooper saw that they were wearing tactical or military style uniforms, including tactical vests and body cameras. Some had long rifles, others pistols or some combination of both. Download our mobile app for iOS or Android to get alerts for local breaking news and weather. State Police Col. Christopher Mason said the men have identified themselves as being part of a group known as Rise of the Moors. The group's website describes them as "Moorish Americans dedicated to educating new Moors and influencing our Elders." Their self-professed leader wanted very much known their ideology is not anti-government, Mason said. Our investigation will provide us more insight into what their motivation, what their ideology is.  Mason said he can't confirm that they are "validated members" of the group. "They identify as they identify." He said police are also aware of what the group promoting on social media sites, but didn't elaborate on what that was. Mason said he did not have any knowledge of this group prior to Saturday, but said it is not unusual for state police to encounter people with "sovereign ideologies" and they train for how to deal with these groups. "We very much understand them," he said. "We train officers at the academy on these interactions and how to de-escalate these situations, how to resolve them in a peaceful manner."