Police, DA Trying To Identify 11 Suspects In I-95 Standoff

WAKEFIELD, MA — Massachusetts State Police and Middlesex District Attorney said they are still trying to identify the 11 suspects arrested after an eight-hour standoff ended peacefully on the northbound side of Interstate 95 in Wakefield Saturday morning.

State Police Col. Christopher Mason said the standoff ended at 10:15 a.m. after through negotiations and after a S.W.A.T. team tightened the perimeter surrounding the remaining suspects. Police arrested nine people Saturday morning after initially arresting two men earlier Saturday morning. The nine suspects arrested around 10:15 surrendered peacefully. Seven were arrested near their cars on the highway, while two others were arrested on North Avenue in Wakefield.

The men were reportedly traveling from Rhode Island to Maine for "training." In a series of three videos posted on YouTube throughout the standoff, a speaker said the men were not U.S. citizens but "American nationals." They displayed a Moroccan flag in one video and yelled to police that their country, "whose flag is right there," had treaties with the U.S. government that prevented their arrest.

Previously on Patch: Standoff With Heavily Armed Group On I-95 Ends With 11 Arrests

"I'm not going to talk about their ideology," Mason said. "They wanted a voice. They wanted to be heard....they wanted to leave the area without any accountability and we couldn;t allow that."

A bomb squad searched the two vehicles before they were towed. Mason said police were obtaining a search warrant to search the vehicles, but that "multiple handguns and long rifles" were in plain view. Some of the men who were arrested requested medical treatment for "preexisting conditions," Mason said.

Ryan said she expected all 11 to be arraigned Tuesday in Woburn District Court on multiple charges.

"At the end of the day we have the desired outcome, which is the safe resolution," Mason said. "Everyone, on both sides, gets to go home safe."

In a series of three videos posted on YouTube throughout the standoff, a Black speaker with the group and near one of the vehicles on the highway said the men were not U.S. citizens but "American nationals." They displayed a Moroccan flag in one video and yelled to police that their country, "whose flag is right here," has treaties with the U.S. government that prevented their arrest.

The man in the video also referred to Young v. Hawaii, which he claimed set a precedent that simply carrying a concealed weapon was not a crime. The appeals court decision in fact says the Second Amendment does not give people a right to carry a concealed weapon.

The same man, who did not identify himself, was the only on-camera speaker in all three videos, which ranged in length from under four minutes to more than 15 minutes. Throughout all three videos, the speaker stressed the group was not anti-government or anti-police and that they had no intention of using their weapons. The speaker insisted the group had committed no crime. On the final video, posted around 8:30 a.m. Saturday, he said the group wanted the issue to be resolved with police issuing summons but without arresting them.

The speakers do not identify the name of their group in any of the videos. Other media outlets have reported they call themselves "The Moorish American Arms" and "Rise of the Moors," which is the name of the YouTube account that streamed all three videos.

Timeline of Events

1:30 a.m.: State Police Trooper stops to assist two vehicles in breakdown lane.

Approximately 2:30 a.m.: Two suspects arrested. Remaining nine suspects remain near vehicles in highway and hide in woods near breakdown lane.

Approximately 4:30 a.m.: Group posts first of three video updates, title "Peaceful," on YouTube. The video has since been removed or set to private.

Approximately 5 a.m.: State Police make first public announcement of incident.

Approximately 5:30 a.m.: Group posts second video, titled "Moroccan peace." The video has since been removed or set to private.

8:10 a.m.: Police hold media briefing on situation.

Approximately 8:30 a.m.: Group posts third and final video, title "We are not anti government." The video has since been removed or set to private.

10:15 a.m.: Standoff ends after police close perimeter on nine remaining suspects. The suspects surrendered without incident.

10:48 a.m.: Southbound of I-95 reopened. Police say north side and North Avenue in Wakefield will remain closed for "a short while" as investigation continues.

10:55 a.m.: Shelter-in-place advisory lifted for parts of akefield and Reading:

The men could not produce licenses to carry or drive, Mason said, and at some point, some went into the woods.

Two of the men were arrested while the remaining seven members barricaded themselves on the highway. Residents in the area of North Avenue, Parker Road and Ash Street in Wakefield and Reading were told to shelter in place, and businesses in the area were told to not open.

"We are hopeful that we will be able to revolve this peacefully with them," Mason said, adding that time is on authorities' side.

Mason said he is not aware of any specific demands the group has made. In social media accounts uploaded from the scene, the men said they are not anti-government, extremists or anti-police, but rather taking a law-abiding trip. Mason said the self-professed leader of the group has also stressed to authorities are not anti-government. But police also said the men do not recognize U.S. laws.

"They identify as they identify," he said.