A former Black Lives Matter movement leader in Iowa City was arrested last week after allegedly lying to law enforcement officials about a killing that took place in his apartment.
Mazin M. Mohamedali, 20, was arrested Saturday and faces one count of accessory after the fact, according to a local report.
Police said Mohamedali, who previously identified himself as a BLM organizer, knew that 19-year-old Quincy Russom had been killed in his Iowa apartment on Feb. 12 during a suspected robbery but didn’t call 911 right away.
Mohamedali then lied to police and gave them false descriptions of people involved with Russom’s death, lied during questioning, and withheld information that would have more quickly helped them find the suspect behind the killing, police added.
Police arrested Mohamedali shortly after Russom’s death after police executed a search warrant and found dozens of ecstasy pills and 56.13 grams of marijuana in his apartment.
He is expected to face trail on those charges on Aug. 24.
He was also arrested last summer during a BLM protest, where he and several other rioters tore down a $5,000 fence protecting the Old Capitol Museum in Iowa City.
He faced six charges from the riot but pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor.
Several other BLM leaders have come under intense scrutiny in recent weeks.
One of the organization’s founders, Patrisse Khan-Cullors, a self-styled Marxist, is facing backlash after spending $3.2 million on four luxury homes in American’s most expensive neighborhoods, according to the New York Post.
Hawk Newsome, who runs Black Lives Matter Greater New York City, said “an independent investigation” should be conducted to determine how BLM’s national organization spends its money.
“If you go around calling yourself a socialist, you have to ask how much of her own personal money is going to charitable causes,” he said. “It’s really sad because it makes people doubt the validity of the movement and overlook the fact that it’s the people that carry this movement.”
