The Not Fucking Around Coalition (NFAC) is a black nationalist militia part of the militia movement in the United States. The group advocates for black liberation and separatism. It has been described by news outlets as a "Black militia". It denies any connection to the Black Panther Party or Black Lives Matter.
Background and organization
John Fitzgerald Johnson, also known as Grand Master Jay and John Jay Fitzgerald Johnson, claims leadership of the group and has stated that it is composed of "ex military shooters." Johnson served in the Virginia National Guard and the Army from 1989 to 2006, leaving at the rank of private due to an other than honorable discharge. He was an independent candidate for U.S. president in 2016 and has stated: "We are a Black militia. We aren't protesters, we aren't demonstrators. We don't come to sing, we don't come to chant. That's not what we do." Furthermore, in the same interview, Johnson expressed Black Nationalist views, putting forth the view that the United States should either hand the state of Texas over to African-Americans so that they may form an independent country, or allow African-Americans to depart the United States to another country that would provide land upon which to form an independent nation. In April 2021 Johnson expanded on this notion, telling The Atlantic that the intention of the NFAC was to establish the "United Black Kemetic Nation", a strictly black ethno-state.
In 2019, Johnson told the Atlanta Black Star that the organization was formed to prevent another Greensboro Massacre.
Thomas Mockaitis, professor of history at DePaul University stated: "In one sense it (NFAC) echoes the Black Panthers but they are more heavily armed and more disciplined... So far, they've coordinated with police and avoided engaging with violence."
NFAC mandates that members have a concealed-carry permit or the ability to obtain one.
Activities
The first reported appearance of NFAC members was a May 12, 2020, protest near Brunswick, Georgia, over the February murder of Ahmaud Arbery, though they were identified by local media as "Black Panthers".
Johnson stated that NFAC provided armed security for the sister of Rayshard Brooks at her request. NFAC escorted her to a rally in downtown Atlanta in late June.
On the Fourth of July, 2020, local media reported that about 100 to 200 mostly armed NFAC members marched through Stone Mountain Park near Atlanta, Georgia, calling for the removal of the Confederate monument. Reuters reported the number of participants as "scores." The NFAC posted videos of the event and reported the number as 1,500. The Stone Mountain Memorial Association, which operates the park, stated that the protesters were peaceful and orderly. Johnson stated of the site, which is important to the Ku Klux Klan: "Our initial goal was to have a formation of our militia in Stone Mountain to send a message that as long as you're abolishing all these statues across the country, what about this one?" He also stated that the formation was a response to a threat by the KKK to start shooting black people at 8 pm on the Fourth of July, 2020. Johnson thus stated at the formation, "I want the heart of the Ku Klux Klan to hear me no matter where the fuck you are. I'm in your house. Where you at? You made a threat. We don't threaten."
On July 25, a local news outlet stated that "more than 300" members were gathered in Louisville, Kentucky to protest the lack of action against the officers responsible for the March killing of Breonna Taylor. The NFAC posted a video of the event on its official YouTube page, reporting the number of militia members registered and present as 3,500. On July 20, preceding the event, Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron and Louisville Metro Council President David James had a phone conversation with Johnson, which the AG's office described as "productive". In response to the announced NFAC presence, about 50 armed Three Percenters counter-protested. Louisville police in riot gear helped to facilitate the maintenance of space between the groups. Three NFAC members were wounded during a negligent weapon discharge. The NFAC said that the discharge occurred when a person who was not yet admitted into the formation collapsed from heat exhaustion and fired her weapon into the ground. The weapon was an older shotgun that Johnson said would not have been approved for the formation. The shotgun projectiles hit the ground, then ricocheted and hit three people. Johnson reported that two of those hit were checked by medics and cleared to continue to participate in the formation.