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Associated Press
Fayetteville, Georgia (AP) — A Georgia-based black separatist group has accused federal and local officials of various potential criminal offenses, including drug and gun crimes, kidnapping, and human trafficking. At a court hearing Tuesday in a suburb of Atlanta, a detective testified that he was being investigated by
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that her Diana Snider, a Fayetteville police investigator, was in a magistrate's court after the Black Hammer Party moved its headquarters to a town south of Atlanta. It reports that he testified that he had launched an investigation into the Black Hammer Party. She has also been contacted by the FBI, which she said is investigating.
Two members of the group were charged with felony charges of kidnapping and sexually assaulting him in July at the house the group rented in Fayetteville. rice field.
A spokeswoman for the FBI's Atlanta office declined to comment, citing her FBI policy not to comment on ongoing investigations.
A federal indictment released last month in Tampa, Florida, found that Russian citizens with ties to the Kremlin paid political protest nonprofits to sow discord in the United States. The group claims to be involved in attempts to sow The indictment includes groups from Florida and California, as well as the Black Hammer Party, as co-conspirators in an unindicted conspiracy.
According to Snyder, federal agents are monitoring the group's attempts to recruit and arm homeless men as security forces and to actively solicit donations from college students at parks in downtown Atlanta. said there is.
No criminal charges have been filed in connection with these activities, the paper reported, Snyder testified. Tuesday's hearing is related to a July 19 call to police from a person who claimed he was kidnapped and held at gunpoint in the locked garage of a Fayetteville home.
Black Hammer leader Augustus Claudius Roman Jr., 36, known as Gazi Cozzo, his 21-year-old Xavier "Kino" Ruthin, a lieutenant, was kidnapped, He was charged with aggravated assault, wrongful imprisonment and conspiracy to commit a crime. He commits felonies and participates in street gang activity.
Roman was also charged with forced homosexuality. Snyder testified that Roman demanded group members have sex with him in order to advance within the Black Hammer Party. Justice of the Peace Christy Dunkelberger ruled that there was sufficient evidence to bring the other charges to trial. Romain and Rushin remain in jail without bail.
On Tuesday, attorneys for Romain and Rushin questioned information underlying the arrests and how the political party qualifies as a street gangster. Asked. The group claims to have been targeted by federal authorities for their political activities.
The alleged victim of sexual assault refused to speak to the police at the time of arrest, and the alleged kidnapping victim who called the police is homeless.
"This whole case seems to be based on the testimony of one person," said Roman's attorney, Stacey Flynn, referring to the man who called police.
A man told police that he and another Black Hammer recruit were forced into a locked garage and held at gunpoint, according to Fayetteville Detective Justin Taylor. rice field. Because the group protested the next morning. Taylor testified that Romain and another Black Hammer member, 18-year-old Amonte "AP" Adams, had guns. found inside. Police said he was found dead with what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Without evidence, the Black Hammer Party accused police of shooting Adams.An autopsy on the man has been completed, but no report has yet been received, Taylor said.
Snyder said police and he were investigating three other kidnappings of his that allegedly took place in the home.
