Members of the Not Fucking Around Coalition (NFAC), a Black militia, stand in ranks during a demonstration in front of Churchill Downs, the site of the Kentucky Derby, in Louisville, Kentucky, on September 5, 2020. (Photo by Stephen Zenner / SOPA Images/Sipa USA)(Sipa via AP Images)
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Not just anyone can join NFAC, and Johnson says the ranks include many former military members. He served in the Virginia National Guard, and the Army, from 1989 to 2006, according to records obtained by CNN.“Preferably ex-military. No ex-law enforcement. No ex-corrections. No felonies. You have to be able to have a weapon or a concealed carry permit,” he said. “Male or female. You just have to be Black. It’s not racist, because it’s a team-building exercise.”The minimum age to join was initially 21, but Johnson recently lowered that to 18 after he got repeated requests from younger prospective members. The one rule is that those between the age of 18 and 21 have to undergo an in-person character assessment.“We are professional, political, critically-thinking people,” Johnson said. “We aren’t a mob.” Johnson wouldn’t say how many members the group has, but he said they had chapters in every state, overseen by a commander of his choosing.The rise of NFAC has at times been overshadowed by allegations that Johnson harbors anti-Semitic views. When asked about two specific screenshots of tweets that appeared to promote anti-Semitic conspiracy theories, he brushed them off.“We are professional, political, critically-thinking people. We aren’t a mob.”
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