Two members of a sovereign citizens group that claimed Rhode Island as its territory face court-ordered prison terms for their roles in an armed standoff with Massachusetts State Police in 2021 .
The leader of Rise of the Moors , Jamhal Tavon Sanders Latimer, must serve three to five years in prison plus four years of probation under penalties ordered at a sentencing hearing Tuesday.
In June, Latimer was found guilty of weapons-related offenses, including possession of a large-capacity weapon, during a standoff that unfolded on Interstate 95, over a period of almost nine hours, on a Fourth of July Weekend.
Another member of the group, Steven Anthony Perez, must serve 18 months plus four years probation, a spokeswoman for Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan said Thursday.
Both Ryan and Massachusetts State Police Col. Jack Mawn sharply criticized the two defendants after they were found guilty last month.
“The complex, hours-long standoff that was the subject of this case posed a significant public safety risk on one of the busiest travel days of the year," said Mawn.
Disruptive standoff on Route 95
On July 3, 2021, Latimer and Perez drew attention to themselves in the breakdown lane of Interstate 95 in Wakefield.
Wearing military-style camouflage clothing and body armor, Latimer carried an AR-style rifle and asserted he was the leader of an armed militia from Rhode Island, according to Ryan's office.
He and Perez, who was armed, too, claimed they were on their way from Rhode Island to “train” in Maine, prosecutors say.
They were with nine other people, similarly dressed, who Latimer referred to as “his men.”
The defendants did not have drivers’ licenses or registrations for the vehicles they were driving or licenses for the firearms they were brandishing.
Latimer and Perez refused to put their weapons down, forcing a response from a state police tactical team,Wakefield police, and crisis negotiators.
More than eight hours later, after the men's negotiated surrender, without a shot, police seized three large-capacity AR-style rifles from the two vehicles.
They also seized a bolt-action rifle, a semi-automatic shotgun, two “drum” large capacity magazines capable of holding fifty rounds or more, dozens of thirty-plus round large capacity magazines and three semi-automatic pistols. Police also confiscated hundreds of rounds of ammunition in varying calibers.
The scene drew national news coverage and focused attention on the Rhode Island-run group.
Guilty finding
Latimer was found guilty of unlawful possession of a large capacity weapon, unlawful possession of a large capacity feeding device, unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of a shotgun or rifle, improper storage of a rifle or shotgun near a minor, use or wearing body armor during a felony, and unlawful possession of ammunition.
“The defendants in this case disrupted multiple communities and jeopardized the safety of many residents who were traveling or intending to travel on a busy Fourth of July weekend,” said Ryan. “Both Jamhal Tavon Sanders Latimer and Steven Anthony Perez demonstrated a disregard for our laws and failed to comply with the directives of multiple police agencies on scene."
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Moors leader receives prison time for Massachusetts standoff in 2021.
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