MALDEN, MASS. (WHDH) - A group of men allegedly a part of a militia arrested in connection with an hourslong standoff with police that shut down a stretch of Interstate 95 in Wakefield faced a judge Tuesday.
Those arrested following the incident on Saturday include Jamahl Tavon Sanders Latimer, 29, of Providence, R.I.; Robert Rodriguez, 21, of the Bronx, New York; Wilfredo Hernandez, 23, of the Bronx, New York; Alban el Curraugh, 27, of the Bronx, New York; Aaron Lamont Johnson, 29, of Detroit;, Quinn Cumberlander, 40, of Pawtucket, R.I.; Lamar Dow, 34, of the Bronx, New York; Conrad Pierre, 29, of Baldwin, New York; two men who refused to identify themselves and a 17-year-old juvenile, according to state police.
All were charged with unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of ammunition, using body armor in the commission of a crime, possession of a high-capacity magazine, improper storage of firearms in a vehicle, and conspiracy to commit a crime. Hernandez, Johnson, Dow, and the 17-year-old were additionally charged with giving false names to police.
They were being arraigned in Malden District Court Tuesday afternoon.
A trooper in a marked state police cruiser patrolling the area of I-95 northbound in Wakefield around 1:30 a.m. stopped to help two vehicles pulled over in the emergency breakdown lane with their hazard lights on, according to Mass. State Police Col. Christopher Mason.
As the trooper approached the scene, state police say he noticed 11 individuals wearing tactical gear, armed with rifles and pistols.
The men reportedly told police they were traveling from Rhode Island to Maine for “training” and had stopped to refuel their vehicles.
When the trooper asked the men to provide their firearm licenses and identifications, they said they did not have them.
Mass. State Police and other local police departments, including Wakefield and Reading, immediately responded to the scene to provide backup.
As police continued to question the individuals, several of them retreated into the woods with their weapons.
Authorities quickly established a perimeter surrounding the wood line with armored vehicles, and a hostage negotiation team engaged with the men.
The situation prompted state police to shut down I-95 between Lynnfield and Stoneham and ask residents in Wakefield and Reading to shelter in place.
Some of the involved men livestreamed the standoff and said that they are part of a group called Rise of the Moors.
According to their website, members of the group do not recognize themselves as United States citizens.
“We’re not antigovernment. We’re not antipolice. We’re not sovereign citizens. We’re not black identity extremists,” one of the suspects said in a livestream.
State police referred to the group as a militia.
Authorities recovered three AR-15 rifles, two pistols, a bolt-action rifle, a shotgun, and a short barrel rifle, state police said.
It took nine hours for negotiators to get the men into custody safely.
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