“The fact that Micah just got five of the bastards, that’s what got you all upset right now.”
Those were the words of Babu Omowale, the so-called national minister of defense for the People’s New Black Panther Party, reacting to the murder of five Dallas police officers murdered in cold blood by gunman Micah Xavier Johnson.
Omowale is also co-founder of the Huey P. Newton Gun Club, a black militant gun group named after Black Panther Party founder Huey P. Newton. According to reports, Dallas shooter Johnson “liked” the Huey P. Newton Gun Club and Omawale has said that he recognized Johnson from black community events in Dallas.
Omowale was speaking in an interview set to air Sunday night on this reporter’s talk radio program, “Aaron Klein Investigative Radio,” broadcast on New York’s AM 970 The Answer and News Talk 990 AM.
I asked Omowale if he expects more police officers to be killed in light of the tense atmosphere following Johnson’s murderous actions.
“Is it a possibility?” he replied. “That’s up to the individual to decide. Anything is a possibility. Black men have been killing police. That’s nothing new. The fact that Micah just got five of the bastards, that’s what got you all upset right now.” He claimed Johnson “did not have any connection to the gun club. He is not a member. He has never been a member.”
I retorted, “Why are you calling police who are murdered in cold blood ‘bastards?’”
Omowale answered: “Really I am just speaking in general. You know, I don’t know those police officers who got killed. And the way you feel about police officers, the black community don’t feel the same way. So I’m giving you the feeling of the black community.”
At another point in the interview, Omowale referred to police officers thusly, “We are talking about the g-ddam murderers who are killing our people around the country.”
The Huey P. Newton Gun Club says on its website it is seeking to “develop over time to a regimented Black Army.”
“Our mission is to educate the masses of black people on the necessity of self,” states the website. “That includes self-preservation, self-defense, and self-sufficiency through militant culture.”
“We want freedom. We want the power to practice self-determination, and to determine the destiny of our community and THE BLACK NATION.”
I asked Omowale about Johnson’s alleged ties to his gun club.
He replied: “The only thing that Micah Johnson did was like our page on Facebook and he joined maybe one of the groups on Facebook. We can’t control who likes us on Facebook. We can’t control who joins our Facebook pages. So he may have been a supporter of the Huey P. Newton Gun Club, as we have thousands of supporters around the country. But as far as him being in the membership that’s an absolute lie.”
Omowale was asked about quotes that he provided to Reuters explaining that he knew Johnson from black community events in Dallas.
“He wasn’t a stranger to us,” Omawale told the news agency. Omowale further told Reuters that Johnson had been “very compassionate about his people.”
“It hurt him and broke his heart every day to read on social media about his people being killed by police,” he said.
Regarding his connection to Johnson, Omowale clarified to me that “we recognize his face in the community from being at certain functions. It’s just like somebody that you know and you see him at the grocery store five or six times during the week because they are part of the same community that you are a part of.”
“We know him from a visual standpoint but he has never had a conversation with the Huey P. Newton Gun Club gun club nor has he had a conversation with the People’s New Black Panther Party.”
Aaron Klein is Breitbart’s Jerusalem bureau chief and senior investigative reporter. He is a New York Times bestselling author and hosts the popular weekend talk radio program, “Aaron Klein Investigative Radio.” Follow him on Twitter @AaronKleinShow. Follow him on Facebook.