I-95 Standoff Suspects Sue MA, Judge, Police For $70M

PROVIDENCE, RI — The Rhode Island-based group at the center of a standoff on Interstate 95 in Massachusetts earlier this month are suing the state of Massachusetts, state police, a judge and several others. The Rise of the Moors members are seeking $70 million in damages.

The group filed the lawsuit in federal court July 20, claiming state police discriminated against members of the group the night of July 3. The group members were heavily armed, and the incident quickly turned into a standoff involving more than 200 police officers.

According to court documents, the group accused state police and the other defendants of "defamation and discrimination of national origin and deprivation of rights under color of law."

Along with state police, the group named several news outlets, a judge and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts as defendants in the case, claiming that "if the state courts continue their unlawful prosecution and/or conviction, they will be violating the claimant's civil, national and human rights."

Earlier this month, members of the group refused to give their names, enter pleas or recognize the authority of the court when appearing before a judge in Malden. Most of the members refused a court-appointed attorney, asking instead for someone not licensed to practice law in Massachusetts to represent them.

In the federal complaint, the group claimed that "any proceedings of a case to which a Moor is a party is a violation of that Moors' constitutionally secured rights," citing a treaty between the United States and the Moroccan Empire signed in the 1780s. The document also claims that "Moors are not, nor have ever been ... a 'U.S. Citizen.'"

The Rise of the Moors group is part of a sovereign citizen movement deemed by the Southern Poverty Law Center to be extremist. They claim to be outside federal and state jurisdiction.

Eleven men were arrested July 3 after a state trooper came across them outside their cars on the side of the highway, heavily armed and clad in military-style gear. They said they were driving from Rhode Island to Maine for "training." One of the members later described it as a "group camping trip" in an affidavit filed with the federal court documents.

Massachusetts State Police did not immediately respond to request for comment.

Patch Editor Mike Carraggi contributed to this report.