About 400 Nuwaubians gathered outside the
Federal Courthouse in Macon Wednesday to support
H. E. Dr. Malachi York
About 400 Nuwaubians gathered outside the
Federal Courthouse in Macon Wednesday to support
H. E. Dr. Malachi York
About 400 people gathered Wednesday afternoon outside the federal
courthouse in Macon to draw attention to a petition for appeal filed on
behalf of United Nuwaubian Nation of Moors founder Malachi York.
Most in attendance were York’s followers and enthusiastically applauded
the brief remarks of Nuwaubian leaders in attendance.
The 23-page “petition
for certificate of appealability,” which was submitted to the courts
Wednesday afternoon, raises several objections to previous court
rulings.
York was sentenced in April 2004 to a
135-year prison sentence for molesting children inside the Nuwaubian
compound.
The document submitted Wednesday lists grounds for appeal such as
ineffective assistance of counsel, prosecutorial misconduct, judicial
misconduct and lack of jurisdiction.
In the document, York argues as he has previously that the court does
not have the jurisdiction to convene or conduct a trial because of what
he claims to be his status as a Liberian diplomat and citizen.
A federal judge denied a previous motion by York to throw out his prison
sentence because of prosecutorial misconduct, according to U.S. District
Court records.
Dana Dixon, a representative of the
United Nuwaubians World Wide, attended the event.
“Everyone should be able to have due process,” she said.
She accused the government of intimidating witnesses and of other forms
of misconduct.
Several Nuwaubians entered the courthouse and filed the brief on behalf
of York.
Bernard Foster, 42, the CEO of the Holy Tabernacle Church where the
group once met, said York’s case had been “railroaded” through. Foster
said the group gathered Wednesday to show their support for York.
“It’s absolutely a shower of support,” he said.
Amir James, center, in white, leads fellow Nuwaubians in applause
after telling them that their next stop in their quest to free their
leader Malachi York after filing a request for an appeal in the Bootle
Federal Courthouse in Macon Wednesday is the 11th Circuit Court of
Appeals.
