WHO ARE 'INDIGENOUS MOORS'?
The Moorish sovereign citizens political movement emerged in the mid-1990s on the East Coast based off the teachings of the Moorish Science Temple, a religious sect dating back to 1913.

MST’s founder Noble Drew Ali taught that black ‘Moors’ were America’s original inhabitants and were therefore entitled to self-governing status.

He believed that all African Americans were descendants of the Moabites and are therefore Moorish.

Some Islamic historians believe that the Moors and Muslim groups reached the Americas before Christopher Columbus.

Moorish sovereigns believe this entitles them to claim immunity from federal, state, and local laws and can sometimes cite God’s law or common law over constitutional authority.

They come into conflict with federal and state authorities over their refusal to obey laws and government regulations.