by Alex Newman
ORLANDO, Fla. — On August 18, Kissimmee Police Department Officer Matthew Baxter was on patrol when he was confronted by a man on a street corner. “Why are you (expletive) with my people?” the man asked, according to a witness. “The police are (expletive).” In video that emerged later, the man can be seen and heard taunting Officer Baxter. “Call your sergeant,” the man on the corner demanded. “Hey, call everybody up here. We ‘bout to put this on Facebook Live.” Officer Baxter, concerned and facing an uncooperative man who refused to follow instructions, eventually did call Sergeant Richard “Sam” Howard. The sergeant promptly responded to what was a seemingly routine disturbance call.
It was anything but routine, however. And before long, both lawmen were dead.
When Sgt. Howard arrived, the man, later identified as Everett Glenn Miller, started behaving even more erratically. “I’m in fear of my life,” Miller reportedly said, putting his hands-on top of his head. “I’m a veteran.” According to Police Chief Jeff O’Dell and various reports, the alleged killer had been preparing what appears to have been an ambush. Miller — a self-described “Moor” whipped into a frenzy over alleged racism, police, President Donald Trump, white people, and various other perceived ills — seems to have decided to take out police some time prior to the incident. That night, the two officers never even had a chance to return fire, Chief O’Dell said. By the time it was over, both of the lawmen had been fatally shot in the head — something Miller apparently trained for.
The national and even the local press have done some reporting on the killings. But, they have done their best to conceal a key element of the story: the profound hatred of police, the law, the president, Christianity, and white people expressed by the accused cop killer. Before Facebook had a chance to take down Miller’s profile page, it had already become apparent that the suspect’s extremist views may have been a motivating factor in what transpired. Based on his vitriolic social media posts, and documents recovered from his vehicle, it appears Miller had been driven mad by biased media reporting painting police and America as racist, as well as the bizarre theories pushed by the Moorish national movement. Aside from his passionate hatred for America and law enforcement, Miller also revealed strong communist sympathies. Almost all of that information has been deliberately concealed from the public by the news media.
The Murder of Two Heroes
On a hot summer central Florida afternoon, Miller, a former U.S. Marine who started going by the name “Malik Muhammad Ali” in the weeks before the murder, shot Officer Baxter and Sgt. Howard before they even knew what hit them. “It looked like they were surprised,” said Kissimmee Police Chief O’Dell. “They were both wonderful men, family men. They are both very committed to the community. They were the epitome of what you ask for in law enforcement officers.” Baxter, who was 27, leaves behind four small children, while Howard, who was 36, had one child. “We do not get to stop and cry for someone we’ve lost or mourn our hero,” O’Dell added. “At the time we go through it, the men and women of law enforcement are required to continue working and bring this individual to justice.”
After the two officers were shot, the suspect ran to a bar, where he calmly ordered a drink, according to witnesses. Law enforcement eventually found him, though, and he was tackled by an Osceola County sheriff’s deputy while reaching for his waistband. Chief O’Dell described the deputy’s actions as “extremely brave and heroic.” After the suspect was on the ground, lawmen found two pistols, a 9 mm pistol and a .22-caliber revolver, according to reports. The .22 had multiple spent casings in it. Miller was arrested and charged with first-degree murder and other less serious charges, and has made an initial court appearance. If convicted, he could face the death penalty. He has been found competent to stand trial.
The Suspect’s Obvious Radicalization and Hate
While Facebook promptly took down the accused cop-killer’s page, a handful of media reports captured some of the information prior to its disappearance down the proverbial memory hole. Among other revelations, the social media posts made clear that Miller had a profound hatred for police, white people, America, and President Trump, among others. “White parents taught you to hate my skin color,” the accused wrote on Facebook before allegedly murdering the officers. “Thats why..i always say white ppl hate. My parents told me to be scared of white ppl. Why..cause why ppl kill.”
The hateful posts continue. “Cops are not Racist..that was 50 years..we treat n****** good. We let them play sports. F*** you..rich bastards,” he wrote on social media (The LECF Intelligence Brief has blanked out some of the obscenities used in the original posts: otherwise the quotes are exactly as written). Hours before allegedly murdering the two Kissimmee lawmen, he made a post claiming that white supremacists had infiltrated police departments. One of his victims, though, Sgt. Howard, was actually black.
Ironically, in a separate recent Facebook post, Miller admitted to being a racist himself. “I am a racist,” he wrote. “We are all racist.” In an astute observation that he apparently did not heed himself, Miller, referring to the killing of a Black Panther leader, even pointed out that “the ruling class uses racism to exploit working people.”
In another post a few hours before the killing, Miller expressed concerns that homosexuals have more rights than black people. He attributed the problem to President Obama, whom he referred to using a racial slur for black people. “LGBT has more rights than me as a black man,” Miller complained, buying into the “progressive” narrative of government privileges belonging to collectives such as women, homosexuals, blacks, and so on rather than the American tradition of inalienable rights endowed on each individual by God. “Obama said ita [sic] better to be gay than black.”
A YouTube page belonging to Miller also revealed obvious signs of radicalization, and it did come to the attention of law enforcement. It features videos of Miller at a range shooting various firearms, including the two that he was reportedly in possession of the night he was arrested for the murders. One video on YouTube shows Miller using a tiny .22-caliber North American magnum, sometimes referred to as a “derringer,” to practice head shots at 10 feet away. The night he was arrested, the .22 in his possession reportedly had one live round and four spent casings. Law enforcement officials not connected to the case suggested the YouTube videos could help prove intent.
In a Facebook video reportedly put out by Miller and cited in an alert to local law enforcement, which apparently was not received by all of the agencies in the area, Miller openly threatened to kill police. “If this cop comes out with his gun, I’m going to shoot me a cop,” he was quoted as saying. “No cop is going to get Glenn Miller today.” It was not immediately clear whether the violent Internet postings played any role in him being involuntarily examined by authorities in the weeks before the shootings. Some reports have also referred to alleged “PTSD” from his military service.
His mind-set, as revealed online, was clearly extreme. A few days before the murders, Miller’s page, sounding a lot like the terroristic Antifa that has been brutally beating those it disagrees with, shared a video about the clashes in Charlottesville, Virginia. Miller also used the occasion to threaten violence against those with whom he disagreed. “Confederate Nazis…i will hurt you all,” Miller warned. “You are the enemy. You can run but you cant hide.” Another post blasted “racist” America. “America is evil,” he added.
In another post, which featured a photo of Martin Luther King Jr., Miller put words in King’s mouth to advocate murdering police. “When I said march I didn’t mean forever m****f****,” read the photo Miller shared, produced by rraw.dub@instagram. “Shoot back!” Along with the photo, Miller offered his own comments. “When them ni$$@ wake up.. its going to be some hell to answer for,” the accused killer wrote. “You only can poke a tie up dog for so long. Once that chain breaks its over. Wake up America before its too late.”
That same day, he shared a photo of Malcolm X, a race-obsessed black supremacist who helped lead the controversial Nation of Islam for over a decade and who advocated segregation of blacks and whites. “Yall n***** better wake up…mind control is real,” Miller said along with the photo of Malcolm X, who ended up being assassinated by members of the Nation of Islam.
In another post featuring a photograph of Communist Party USA and Black Panther Party leader and violent militant Angela Davis, Miller said black women were “programmed” and so he needed to find somebody like Davis. “I am a Moor..I need a Warrior Queen becuse..I am a King of know person..i am a King of Myself,” he wrote. “I am A Moor!” (Davis, who was prosecuted for allegedly buying guns that were used to murder a judge, went to Moscow to receive the “Lenin Peace Prize” from mass-murdering Soviet dictator Leonid Brezhnev.)
The “Moorish National” Movement
Miller’s reference to being a Moor could be significant, according to experts and analysts. Aside from its association with the Muslim world, the term was popularized in America almost a century ago by the Moorish Science Temple of America (MSTA). Originally, the Moorish Science organization claimed (falsely) that American blacks were descended from the Moorish empire, making them “Moorish Nationals” and Muslims. More recently, though, the term Moor has been used by militants having little in common with the old movement. MSTA has been described by analysts as a pseudo-Islamic mystical sect.
Instead, according to reports, self-styled Moorish nationals and Moors have been going around trying to steal property by filing bogus “legal documents.” They also claim that laws and taxes do not apply to them while — in some cases — making violent threats. The bizarre, loosely defined ideology essentially mixes some so-called sovereign citizen views with racism, hatred of America, Islamic-style beliefs, and outright absurdities.
In documents and notes written by Miller, obtained by law enforcement during a search of his vehicle and later obtained by the Law Enforcement Charitable Foundation, those extreme views come through clearly, too. In a handwritten document dated August of 2017 and found in a notebook is a page headlined “Birth Right Issue.” At the top of that page is a name: Taj Tarik Bey. A brief online search reveals that this Mr. Bey, who styles himself the “National Grand Divine Minister,” has long promoted a bizarre ideology that combines some elements of the “sovereign citizen” movement with outlandish theories on everything from history and genealogy to race and law. Bey did not respond to a request for comment by press time.
Another name mentioned in Miller’s handwritten notes is “Noble Drew Ali,” the founder of the MSTA. Before Ali died in 1929, he converted thousands of black Americans to his cause, urging them to embrace a strange version of Islam and their supposed identity as Moors. His sect has largely disappeared, though the current “grand sheik” of what remains of MSTA has disavowed the behavior of those who claim that they are beyond the jurisdiction of authorities. “We are citizens of the United States of America, and we want to make our contribution to the United States of America, not tear it down,” MSTA leader Jones Bey was quoted as saying in 2011.
Even after his death, Ali’s influence lives on through the Nation of Islam and various offshoots of the Moorish Science Temple that preach even more extreme ideas. Among other things, the Moorish movement and leaders such as the National Grand Divine Minister cited by Miller teach that black Americans are not actually Americans. Instead, they claim, black Americans must “correct” their “status” to make clear that they are not subject to the jurisdiction of state, local, or federal authorities in the United States. Instead, many of them claim to be a part of the “Moorish National Republic” and the “Moorish Divine and National Movement of the World.” Some identify with fictional “nations” they invent. They also claim to be the “aboriginal and indigenous natural peoples” of America, which they refer to as “North-West Amexem North America.”
In a sample “proclamation of nationality” provided on a Moorish website, adherents are encouraged to use the document to “correct” their status, supposedly ensuring that they are no longer under the jurisdiction of properly constituted, democratically elected authorities. In the document, the signatory states that they are a “Moorish American — a Descendant of the Ancient Moabites/Moors, by Birthright, Freehold, Primogeniture and Inheritance; being Aboriginal and Indigenous to the Land/s (Amexem/Americas) Territorium of my Ancient Moabite/Moorish Fore-Mothers and Fore-Fathers.”
They claim all the Americas are actually the “Land of the Moors,” and that by correcting their statuses, they may do practically anything legally:
I have, acknowledge, claim and possess, by said Inheritance and Primogeniture, the Freehold Status thereto; all Unalienable and Substantive Rights, to Be, to Enjoy, and to Act, distinct in my Aboriginal Customs and Culture; and determining my own political, social, and economic status of the State. Turning my heart and mind back to my Ancient Mothers and Fathers — Moors/Muurs, by Divine and Natural Right. Being Moorish American, we have and possess the internationally recognized Rights to determine our own ‘Status of the State’ absent of threat, coercion, or acquiescence to a Color-of-Law, a Color-of-Office, nor to be subjected to an imposed Color-of-Authority.
In the document, signatories claim they “can never at any time ever be a member/citizen of the union states or the United States of America as established via the United States Republic Constitution.” They also argue: “All those of European ancestry are foreign to all Moorish Americans. Therefore all Europeans and European Jurisdiction are a Foreign Jurisdiction to Moorish Americans as affirmed in the United States Republic Constitution.” Of course, the courts have never agreed with the legal arguments, and more than a few Moors making such arguments have been chastised by judges or threatened with charges of contempt of court.
Miller claimed in his notes: “I corrected my status.” “We are the great Masonic secret,” he added in his ramblings. “United States is an appendix of Morocco. It’s not a Christian country.” He also claimed that Jesus is the “Negro God.” “White man,” he added, “speak with a fork tongue.” “Voodoo kick out the white man,” his notes continued. “Your thoughts are everything.” Echoing Moorish propaganda, Miller apparently viewed any arrest of a black person who has “corrected” his “status” as an instance of “human trafficking.”
On one of the Moorish National sites promoting the theories, public officials are warned that if anyone who identifies as a Moorish National is approached, kidnapped (arrested), held hostage (jailed), deprived of liberty, or subject to any other actions by authorities, there will be a $250,000 “charge” per day. Apparently numerous notices were sent out to governors and other American officials, including Obama. Many other documents purporting to protect self-styled Moorish Nationals from laws, statutes, and regulations are also floating around. Government officials are encouraged to contact the Moorish National Republic Federal Government — apparently headquartered in “the Corporate State of Connecticut” — to “verify one of our Moorish American Nationals.” They even produce phony drivers licenses.
Is This Movement a Threat?
Spokesmen for local law enforcement who spoke to the Law Enforcement Charitable Foundation said they did not have any information available on whether the Moorish ideology played any role in the murders. If proven in court, Miller’s alleged murder of two police officers would not be the first time a self-styled Moor, goaded to the point of hysteria by dishonest media reports about police and duped into bizarre legal theories by self-styled “teachers” and “gurus,” has murdered police officers in recent history.
Indeed, just last summer, another so-called Moor, Gavin Eugene Long, a 29-year-old ex-Marine, shot six police officers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Three officers were killed in the ambush, which Long referred to as “justice.” The year before, Long had filed a document with the Jackson County, Missouri, recorder claiming to be with the “United Washitaw de Dugdahmoundyah Mu’ur Nation, Mid-West Washita Tribes.” The document contained what was described as a “live claim birth” changing Long’s name to “Cosmo Ausar Setepenra.” In other words, like Miller, Long had “corrected” his “status.” A year later, he was killing police in response to what he claimed was racism among officers. And like Miller, Long made numerous posts on social media attacking police, white people, racism, America, and more.
The year before Long went on his murderous rampage, “Olajuwon Ali Davis,” another Moor who had apparently “corrected” his “status” using an “affidavit of fact,” was sentenced to seven years in prison for plotting an attack against police in Ferguson, Missouri. In addition to being a self-styled Moorish National, Davis was also the St. Louis leader of the local New Black Panther Party. Like other Moors, he was known for using bogus “legal” documents, including a phony ID card from a New Jersey-based Moorish group. On social media, he posted a video purporting to teach others how to avoid paying taxes
Among the most well-known Moors was Jeff Fort, the former leader of a violent street gang in Chicago. In 1987, he was convicted in U.S. court for conspiring to blow up U.S. government buildings with the Gadhafi regime in Libya.
Some government agencies have started taking the threat seriously. The New Jersey Office of Homeland Security, for example, published an analysis exploring the overlap between black nationalists and Moorish Sovereign Citizens. “The Black Separatist and Moorish Sovereign Citizen extremist movements have common ideologies, tactics, and targets and have recently reacted violently to perceived incidents of police brutality,” the analysis stated. “As a result, law enforcement and government officials have become principal targets of these overlapping movements.”
“Nationally, individuals have claimed affiliation with Black Separatist and Moorish Sovereign Citizen extremist groups,” New Jersey authorities continued. “These ‘blended extremists’ — individuals who draw ideological and tactical inspiration from multiple extremist groups — present a unique threat. In New Jersey, there are no known individuals subscribing to both groups’ ideologies; however, both groups have active local chapters and members who have previously engaged in criminal activity.”
Beyond Moors, Threats Grow
Beyond the Moors, a number of radicalized black movements have raised alarms. The same night that officers Baxter and Howard were shot, four other police officers were also shot, including two in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jacksonville shooter was identified by authorities as Derrick Brabham. Based on his social media posts, he, too, was whipped into a frenzy by the media’s incessant race-mongering, fuming on social media about the KKK, racism, police, white people, Trump, Black Lives Matter, and more. “I wanna say black lives matter but I don’t feel like mine does,” he wrote on Facebook. While police said alcohol and domestic violence were also involved in the incident, it was clear that he had been radicalized against law enforcement and was an adherent of the Black Lives Matter movement. Officers ended up shooting and killing Brabham after he shot two officers.
Last summer, another “black power” activist riled up by the press murdered five police officers in Dallas, Texas. Amid a Black Lives Matter rally, Xavier Johnson shot a total of twelve police officers — the deadliest single day for police officers in America since the September 11th attacks. He repeatedly expressed hatred against whites and law enforcement, and was known as a supporter of the New Black Panther Party (NBPP), the Nation of Islam, and the so-called Black Riders Liberation Army. He had been a member of the Houston NBPP. He was also a supporter of the “African American Defense League,” a group whose leader has called for the murder of police officers across America.
A few years earlier, fired Los Angeles Police Department Officer Christopher Jordan Dorner hunted down and shot some of his former colleagues and their family members, killing four. In a bizarre manifesto focusing on alleged racism and other issues, he praised Obama, Hillary Clinton, and a number of establishment media personalities, such as Chris Matthews, Brian Williams, Soledad Obrien, Wolf Blitzer, and Anderson Cooper, whose constant race-mongering may have driven him over the edge. Dorner was killed in a shootout with police.
More recently, the emergence of the increasingly militant Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement has also proved problematic for officer safety. In a variety of BLM-linked protests across America over a period of years, activists have chanted, “What do we want? Dead cops!” and, “pigs in a blanket, fry ’em like bacon.” For most, the extreme rhetoric is just that. But for some, the violent chants are taken literally.
In public comments, President Trump has indicated an understanding of the problem. On the campaign trail, for instance, he suggested that Black Lives Matter leaders have played a key role in instigating a wave of murders targeting police by black left-wing extremists. Asked by then-Fox News host Bill O’Reilly if BLM had served as “a fuse-lighter” in the recent wave of assassinations targeting police, Trump did not equivocate. “They certainly have ignited people and you see that,” Trump said, calling the group a “threat” because it was “essentially” calling for mass murder of police. “It’s a very, very serious situation and we just can’t let it happen.”
Trump suggested the attorney general would be asked to investigate, and that the administration would, “at a minimum,” have to watch the movement closely. In short, the convergence among various extremist movements appears to be a growing threat.
Covering Up the Extremism?
Despite the growing threat to police and public safety, almost no one in the national press is talking about the important details of the Kissimmee story so far. Instead of focusing on the anti-police remarks, the hate, the Moorish National ramblings, and the obvious evidence that Miller had been whipped into a frenzy against “white people” and police by the establishment media, some of the local press that covered the shooting tried to make the issue about guns — at least when they covered the story at all.
Writing in the Orlando Sentinel, for example, David Harris quoted numerous self-styled experts fretting about alleged “loopholes” in firearms laws. Other sources quoted in the article suggested that people should lose their gun rights merely for being accused by a psychiatrist of having some alleged mental illness. Janet Reddick, an editor at the Orlando Sentinel, refused to answer questions from the Law Enforcement Charitable Foundation about her paper’s apparently deliberate cover-up of the alleged killer’s views. A reporter there also refused to comment. Law enforcement officials told LECF that no one had yet requested some of the relevant records.
Some of the media focus surrounding the slayings has centered on Miller’s recent mental health examination under Florida’s Baker Act. Miller was taken in under the statute, which allows individuals to be examined for up to 72 hours. His social media posts advocating the killing of police were noticed by law enforcement and sparked enough concern for the Orlando Police Department’s Intelligence Unit to send out a memo warning officers about Miller and urging caution when approaching him.
But while the press has refused to properly explain the dangers, high-level federal officials in the Trump administration appear to be taking the threat seriously. In the meantime, it is important that local law enforcement be aware of the threats and the growing movements that see police and Americans as enemies to be murdered.