Evening Shade, AR. – Multiple law enforcement agencies executed a search warrant on a property on Highway 56 near Evening Shade on Thursday, arresting several with connections to a Moorish sovereign citizens group.
Officers from the Sharp County Sheriff’s Office, Newton County Sheriff’s Office, Arkansas State Police, Arkansas Game and Fish, the 3rd Judicial Drug Task Force, and the Jonesboro Police executed the search warrant and arrested Saleem Yosiyah YisraEl and other individuals who refused to identify themselves.
Complaints about the group began in August of 2023 after two people were found moving an RV and a trailer onto property owned by an unaffiliated person. Deputies attempted to evict them and the people were warned to leave the property. The group identified themselves as members of the Moorish National Republic, a sovereign citizens group. The suspects provided false documents claiming the property as theirs and refused to leave. Since that time, the Moorish group had erected permanent buildings and made other efforts to live “off grid”.
Evidence recovered in the search warrants included ficticious license plates, USPS and internet scams, and several thousand dollars of Iraqi currency. According to a press release from Sharp County Sheriff Shane Russell, the FBI have been contacted concerning the fraudulent documentation and other cyber crimes.
