Great Again Pills in Kentucky Whas News

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A Black militia is planning to hold an armed march in Louisville on Saturday to demand justice for Breonna Taylor, according to a video from the leader of the group.

John Fitzgerald "Jay" Johnson, the self-proclaimed grand master and founder of the NFAC, which stands for the Not F***ing Around Coalition, said in a video posted on Sunday that those wishing to march must come in a specific uniform: black boots, black pants, black button-down shirt and black mask. He added that members must come with several types of guns.

"Understand the seriousness of this situation," said Johnson, who goes by the name The Real Grandmaster Jay. "Breonna Taylor was murdered in her home. ... We gotta go in on this one."

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In a video published Monday, Johnson said that the group will meet at noon Saturday at Central High School, 1130 W. Chestnut St. But on Tuesday afternoon, Louisville Metro Police spokeswoman Jessie Halladay said the NFAC will change locations so that it is not on school property.

Unlawful possession of a weapon on school property is a felony in Kentucky. Halladay said she did not have any additional information to share about the rally location.

Johnson met electronically with Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron and Louisville Metro Council President David James on Monday, according to James, who added that he organized the meeting.

Cameron is investigating the killing of Taylor, a 26-year-old Black woman who was unarmed in her South End apartment when Louisville police fatally shot her March 13. Cameron spokeswoman Elizabeth Kuhn confirmed the phone call took place.

"The conversation was productive," Kuhn wrote in an email. "Attorney General Cameron discussed his continued commitment to moving forward with our office's independent and thorough investigation into the death of Ms. Taylor."

The militia made waves July 4 when roughly 1,000 members of the group marched in Stone Mountain, Georgia, where there is a mountainside carving of three Confederate leaders: Robert E. Lee, Jefferson Davis and Stonewall Jackson. Authorities said the event was peaceful, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, but the group's presence caused a stir on social media.

Protesters have taken to the streets of Louisville for 55 days to demand justice for Taylor, who was shot as police served a "no-knock" search warrant as a part of a narcotics investigation. No drugs were found in the apartment.

Court records show that police obtained a warrant with a no-knock provision for Taylor's apartment signed by Circuit Judge Mary Shaw. Even so, officials have said that plainclothes officers knocked and announced their presence before breaking in Taylor's door with a battering ram.

Taylor's boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, who was also in the apartment, fired one shot in response, hitting Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly in the thigh. Mattingly and Officers Brett Hankison and Myles Cosgrove returned fire, striking Taylor five times.

She died in her hallway.

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Like many of the protesters, Johnson, the leader of the NFAC, is demanding that the three officers involved in the shooting be fired by Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer and criminally charged by Cameron. One of the officers in the shooting, Hankison, was fired last month and is in the process of appealing the termination.

In a call last week organized by local activist Lebron Seay, Johnson told David James, D-6th District, and Louisville Chief of Community Building Vincent James that 5,000 to 6,000 people from his group will hold an armed march in Louisville if there is not progress made in Taylor's case.

"I would be so remiss not to tell you that there are a lot of people nationwide that are ready to descend on your city to extract justice if you cannot give us some type of guarantee that something is coming soon," Johnson said.

David James said during the call that the investigation has taken so long due to Fischer's "piss-poor leadership," as the city did not turn over the police's investigative to Attorney General Cameron until a few weeks ago.

In an interview with The Courier Journal, David James said he had not spoken with Johnson before and joined the call to "help answer any questions" and to make sure Johnson "was aware of whatever the facts were."

David James also said that the "lack of transparency" of Fischer's administration has led to a distortion of facts and that he was asked to join the call after the Louisville mayor refused to do so.

Jean Porter, a spokeswoman for Fischer, told The Courier Journal on Tuesday that the mayor was not invited to the call with Johnson.

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David James said he is "not a big fan of people carrying weapons while they're protesting or marching through the city, no matter who they are." However, he added that the group consists of "law-abiding citizens following the rules and laws of the state of Kentucky" and that they have the right to protest.

The Metro Council president added that he is more worried about people reacting to the NFAC and that there may "be one person that does one stupid thing, and then we have a problem."

Louisville Metro Police spokesman Dwight Mitchell said the department is aware of Johnson's video announcing the NFAC's intentions to come to Louisville and the department has attempted to reach out to the group's organizers "to understand what their plans are."

"We have had several protests posted over the past several weeks, some of which have occurred and some which have not," Mitchell said. "We will take the appropriate steps to prepare for whatever may occur."

Mitchell declined to comment further on whether the department has successfully reached Johnson and what steps the department is taking to ensure the march is safe.

According to Porter, Louisville police have been in contact with Johnson about tentative plans for the march and "their shared goal for a peaceful event."

When asked during a Tuesday press briefing if the state would send police to the armed march in Louisville, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said his administration has not received a request to get involved.

"Any time a request comes in, we'll have to look at the danger that's out there for life and safety of folks," Behsear said. "But at the time, we have not received any official request for assistance."

Contact Ben Tobin at bjtobin@gannett.com and 502-377-5675 or follow on Twitter @TobinBen. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: subscribe.courier-journal.com.

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Source: https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/2020/07/21/breonna-taylor-protests-nfac-plans-hold-armed-march-louisville/5477815002/

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