Noah Green, the suspect in the Friday attack on two U.S. Capitol Police officers, was a supporter of the Nation of Islam, and its leader Louis Farrakhan, the New York Times reported. Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam is a black nationalist movement and has been criticized for anti-Semitic teachings. Green’s Facebook account has since been removed.
Green, 25, was identified by law enforcement officials as the suspected attacker who rammed his car into two police officers, killing one and injuring the other. According to the New York Times, Green had made several posts on Facebook in support of Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam.
After ramming his vehicle into the Capitol Police officers, the suspect got out of his vehicle holding a knife and was fatally shot by an officer. The slain officer was identified as William ‘Billy’ Evans, an 18-year veteran officer with the Capitol Police department.
According to Fox News, Green’s Facebook page has since been taken down by the social media company, but not before users saved several of his recent posts.
Fox News reported one of Green’s most recent posts linked to a 2009 video of Farrakhan, in which the Nation of Islam leader said Jesus was not the Messiah and called Christian theology a lie. The New York Times reported that on March 17, he posted a photo of a donation he had made to the Norfolk, Virginia chapter of the Nation of Islam, and a video of a Farrakhan speech titled “The Divine Destruction of America.”
NBC News reported Green shared another recent Facebook post indicating he left his job “in search of a spiritual journey” and shared other posts describing the “end times” and the “last days of our world as we know it.”
Facebook confirmed it had removed Green’s account in a statement provided to NBC. The social media company, which also runs Instagram, said Green’s accounts were removed in accordance with the company’s “Dangerous Individuals and Organizations policy.”
According to the Anti-Defamation League, Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam have promoted both anti-Semitic and anti-white racist commentary. Farrakhan reportedly referred to white people as “blue-eyed devils” and Jewish people as “bloodsuckers.”
Prior to Green being identified by law enforcement, D.C. Metropolitan Police Department Chief Robert Contee said the suspect was not previously known to law enforcement, and the incident “does not appear to be terrorism-related.”
Green reportedly lived in Indiana but also had ties to Virginia. The New York Times reported Green had attended high school in Virginia before attending Glenville State College in West Virginia and then Christopher Newport University in Newport News, Virginia.
The violent Friday attack on the Capitol complex comes two months after demonstrators entered the Capitol on Jan. 6 and clashed with police during as President Donald Trump rallied supporters in Washington D.C. to raise objections to the 2020 election certification.
One Capitol Police Officer, Brian Sicknick, died the day after the Jan. 6 incident. The New York Times originally reported icorrectly that Sicknick had been struck in the head by an “insurrectionists” wielding a fire extinguisher. The New York Times later issued a correction, noting “medical experts have said he did not die of blunt force trauma.” Two men were charged in March with assaulting Sicknick and other officers with pepper spray.
A 14-year Air Force veteran, Ashli Babbitt, was also fatally shot by a Capitol Police officer inside the Capitol on Jan. 6.
Thousands of National Gaurd troops have been deployed in Washington D.C. since the Jan. 6 incident. They were scheduled to end their deployment on March 12, but the Pentagon decided to extend the deployment, keeping 2,300 National Guard troops in D.C. through May 23.
