Massachusetts State Police took 11 people into custody on Saturday morning after an hours-long standoff with a group of heavily armed men shut down Interstate 95 in Wakefield, prompting shelter-in-place orders and disrupting the holiday weekend commute.
The suspects reportedly said they are part of an organization called &#8220;The Rise of The Moors.&#8221; This group describes itself as “Moorish Americans dedicated to educating new Moors and influencing our Elders.” <a href="https://boston.cbslocal.com/2021/07/03/rise-of-moors-moorish-american-arms-wakefield-standoff-i95/">According</a> to the CBS News affiliate in Boston, they “claimed to be American nationals but not US citizens” and had “a Moroccan flag.”
The standoff ended around 10:15 a.m. with no injuries or shots fired. Police say all men surrendered without incident.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Two additional suspects were located in their vehicles, bringing the total number of those arrested to 11 (two initially on North Avenue and nine outside and inside the vehicles) <a href="https://t.co/YAXzKlW6Yl">https://t.co/YAXzKlW6Yl</a>
&mdash; Mass State Police (@MassStatePolice) <a href="https://twitter.com/MassStatePolice/status/1411341425908797445?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 3, 2021</a></blockquote>
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Authorities said it began around 2 a.m. when a trooper spotted two cars pulled over in the breakdown lane on I-95. Some of the men wore full military-style uniforms and were armed with long rifles and pistols. Mass State Police Col. Christopher Mason reportedly said they were traveling from Rhode Island to Maine for “training,” and the vehicles were packed with camping gear.
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BREAKING: <a href="https://twitter.com/MassStatePolice?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MassStatePolice</a> confirm the armed men posted multiple YouTube videos from “Rise of the Moors” account this morning. This is a portion of one of them. 
Man in video says, “I reassured them [police] that we are trying to come to a peaceful resolution.”<a href="https://twitter.com/boston25?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@boston25</a> <a href="https://t.co/LMCOrmRkt9">pic.twitter.com/LMCOrmRkt9</a>
&mdash; Julianne Lima (@JulianneLimaTV) <a href="https://twitter.com/JulianneLimaTV/status/1411293165978542088?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 3, 2021</a></blockquote>
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“You can imagine 11 armed individuals standing with long guns slung on an interstate highway at 2 in the morning certainly raises concerns and is not consistent with the firearms laws that we have in Massachusetts,” Mason said.
The men did not provide identification and did not have firearm licenses.
&#8220;I attribute the successful resolution of this to both patience, professionalism, and partnership,&#8221; said Mason. &#8220;At the end of the day, we have the desired outcome, which is a safe resolution.&#8221;
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Breaking: Police have 2 men in custody at the side of North Ave in Wakefield following a standoff which closed down 95 for hours. Armed group on the highway and in woods. Shelter in place still in effect for the area. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WCVB?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WCVB</a> <a href="https://t.co/GaDYukUQLL">pic.twitter.com/GaDYukUQLL</a>
&mdash; Josh Brogadir (@JoshBrogadirTV) <a href="https://twitter.com/JoshBrogadirTV/status/1411266794082516992?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 3, 2021</a></blockquote>
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The Associated Press <a href="https://apnews.com/article/armed-standoff-wakefield-massachusetts-9ee61b69ca96bb5ce212f56651f0dd11">reported</a>:
<blockquote>The men refused to put down their weapons or comply with authorities’ orders, claiming to be from a group “that does not recognize our laws” before taking off into a wooded area, police said.
Police and prosecutors are working to determine what charges the members of the group will face.
The suspects were expected to appear in court in Woburn on Tuesday, Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan said. 
Mason said the “self-professed leader” of the group wanted it to be known that they are not antigovernment.
“I think the investigation that follows from this interaction will provide us more insight into what their motivation, what their ideology is,” Mason said.</blockquote>
According to the AP, a video posted to social media on Saturday morning shows an unidentified man who “said he was from a group called Rise of the Moors broadcast from Interstate 95 in Wakefield near exit 57.”
The man in the video likened his group to a “militia,” claimed to be wearing a body camera, and said they had pulled over to refuel their vehicles. He said they had transported their own “gas tanks full of fuel” so their militant presence wouldn’t alarm people at gas stations.
“We are not anti-government. We are not anti-police, we are not sovereign citizens, we’re not Black identity extremists,” he said. “As specified multiple times to the police that we are abiding by the peaceful journey laws of the United States.”
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Armed standoff

11 Arrested After Standoff Between MA State Troopers And Group Of Armed Men In Tactical Gear Shuts Down I-95

Massachusetts

Wellesley Public Schools in Massachusetts is asking its students and faculty to report others for “incidents of bias” to the school district for investigation and potential punishment.
Wellesly, which operates a system of schools pre-k through high school outside of Boston, has crafted a plan through its Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) to investigate reports of bias among students and staff. According to school <a href="https://defendinged.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Responding-to-Incidents-of-Bias-or-Discrimination.pdf">policy</a> obtained by <a href="https://defendinged.org/incidents/wellesley-public-schools-encourages-school-community-to-report-each-other-anonymously-for-bias-based-incidents/">Parents Defending Education</a>, a “bias incident” is:
<blockquote>… any biased conduct, speech or expression that has an impact but may not involve criminal action, but demonstrates conscious or unconscious bias that targets individuals or groups that are part of a federally protected class (ie. race, ethnicity, national origin, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, religion, or disability). Bias-based behavior can also be described as when someone treats another person differently or makes an offensive comment because of their membership in a protected group, such as their race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, religion, or disability.</blockquote>
Reports of bias or discrimination, including sexual harassment, may be reported anonymously online or told directly to a faculty member. Possible punishments for student violations of the school’s policies include “detention, suspension, or other restorative responses that require them to acknowledge their responsibility and minimize its impact.”
Teachers, staff, and even community members may run afoul of the guidelines, prompting action by the school:
<blockquote>A staff member would be subject to the disciplinary procedures of their bargaining unit, which might typically include a process of formal warnings and reprimands, suspension, or more serious consequences. Non-staff adult community members may be sanctioned by limiting or ending their participation in WPS community activities or ending their ability to be on WPS premises</blockquote>
As part of its training on “equity protocols,” the school teaches that incidents of bias can take place in the form of a passing comment, a rude joke, a text message, or a social media post. Reports of bias are handed over to the DEI to determine if an investigation is warranted and, if so, who will oversee it.
The training protocols note that bias incidents should be reported even if they happen outside of school and off school property. One slide on “reports involving social media” says that bias can turn up in social media posts in the form of “political speech,” “microaggressions,” “inappropriate conduct,” “hate speech,” and “direct threats.” A note at the bottom of the slide says that off-site conduct is covered under the school’s bias and discrimination policy “if it impacts school or work environment.”
Microaggressions are also addressed in the classroom setting, warning teachers and students against making statements such as “You’re so articulate” and “You’re transgender? Wow, you don’t look like it at all.” School policy also forbids teachers from “assigning students tasks or roles that reinforce particular gender roles” or from referring to COVID-19 as the “China virus.”
After the DEI decides to investigate an instance of reported bias, the protocols state that investigations may lead to one or more outcomes. Cases are dropped if no evidence can be found of a violation. Cases that are found to be supported by evidence, however, are turned over to the DEI for discipline and training and are “documented in district database.”
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/elementary-school-equity-presentation-insinuates-hispanic-students-struggle-in-education-system-because-they-face-deportation-threats">Elementary School ‘Equity’ Presentation Insinuates Hispanic Students Struggle In Education System Because They Face ‘Deportation Threats’</a>
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Massachusetts

11 Arrested After Standoff Between MA State Troopers And Group Of Armed Men In Tactical Gear Shuts Down I-95

Massachusetts School District Asks Students To Report ‘Incidents Of Bias’ Among Peers, Faculty

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