Witnesses react to NFAC's Arrival in Lafayette
LAFAYETTE, La. (KLFY) -- Members of the Not F****** Around Coalition have arrived in Lafayette ahead of Saturday's formation at Parc Sans Souci. People are already reporting sightings of them armed, but the militia's and law enforcement's message is not to panic.
Guests in Lafayette hotels got some of the first glimpses of the NFAC militia Friday. Allen Goree said he saw about a half dozen full vehicles enter the parking lot of the Courtyard Marriot and armed men began roaming the area.
"I didn't feel safe, not at all," Goree told News 10. He didn't know who the men were with, but he spoke to them, and drove across the street with his family where he felt safe.
He said the armed men left the parking lot after about 20 minutes. "They had weapons, but they wasn't aggressive. No shots so that was a relief," Goree recalled.
The NFAC claims to be the fourth-largest militia in the U.S., and while it is their second amendment right to open carry in Louisiana, Goree wishes there was another way to protest their greivances.
"If you were really educated, you wouldn't need weapons because I don't want to shoot you. I don't want to kill you." At the same time, Goree added, "It's a time now where people are getting fed up, and it's either, you keep getting pushed around and killed or you protect yourself. It comes to that point."
When asked "Why the guns?", the NFAC leader had this to say:
John Jay Fitzgerald Johnson, NFAC Grand Master
"We're exercising our constitutional right when we've already said we're coming for a day of solidarity. The NFAC has a zero record of property destruction, of shooting anyone purposely or getting arrested, and we intend to keep it that way, and anyone who is uncomfortable with us exercising our constitutional right, maybe they're in the wrong country."
NFAC activities Saturday will begin at Parc Sans Souci @11 A.M. with the formation @4 P.M. Reporting in Lafayette, Neale Zeringue for KLFY News 10.