Photo by Bart Everson
A man identified as the shooter who killed three police officers Louisiana belonged to a "sovereign citizen" group called the Washitaw Nation, according to news reports. Gavin Eugene Long changed his name to "Cosmo Ausar Setepenra" and claimed his nationality as the "United Washitaw de Dugdahmoundyah Mu'ur," The New Orleans Times-Picayune reported. But the son of the group's late founder disclaimed any connections to the alleged shooter. "Our people have been safe. Others have hijacked our cause," Frederix Joe Washington told The Monroe News-Star. The Washitaw Nation claims to be an "indigenous" group that owns almost all of the land that made up the Louisiana Purchase. Its followers are part of the growing sovereign citizen movement that rejects federal, state, local and other forms of government as illegitimate. "The movement is rooted in racism and anti-Semitism, though most sovereigns, many of whom are African American, are unaware of their beliefs' origins," the Southern Poverty Law Center writes on its website. The Washitaw name comes from the historic Ouachita Tribe, some of whose descendants are part of the Caddo Nation in Oklahoma. But the group and others like it are not considered to be legitimate. Authorities said Long, a former U.S. Marine, killed three officers and wounded three others in Baton Rouge on Sunday. He was killed in the resulting shootout, which occurred on his 29th birthday. Get the Story:
Gavin Long belonged to Washitaw Nation. Who are they? (The New Orleans Times-Picayune 7/18)
B.R. shooter unknown to son of Washitaw Nation head (The Monroe News-Star 7/18)
Gavin Long: Who is Baton Rouge cop killer? (CNN 7/18)
Baton Rouge shooter was ex-Marine who denied ties to any group (Reuters 7/18)
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