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Cleveland, Ohio – The leader of a Black militia formed to provide an alternative to traditional policing in Cleveland has been arrested, police say.
According to reports, local “community organizer” Antoine “Fahiem” Tolbert now faces extortion charges for allegedly terrorizing a Black gas station owner for over three hours in an attempt to extract protection money.
The 33-year-old Tolbert runs the heavily armed and ostensibly “anti-crime” militia known as New Era Cleveland. The group is locally famous for performing community patrols armed with rifles and handguns to deter what it says is violent crime common in Black neighborhoods.
Local politicians such as Mayor Justin Bibb and City Council President Blaine Griffin had previously gushed over Tolbert and his New Era militants as a “grassroots” solution to many Black issues. In addition to armed patrols, the group hands out free supplies to residents and claims to promote the welfare of children on social media.
Reports now say that Tolbert’s new extortion charge stems from a mob-style shakedown that attempted to force a victim to pay out of pocket for New Era’s “Elite” level security protection on August 3rd.
Police assert that Tolbert—who also goes by the name Chairman Fahiem—entered a convenience store along with several other New Era jackboots armed with assault-style rifles in Cleveland’s Lee-Harvard neighborhood.
A police report pertaining to the incident stated that the number of Black militiamen numbered anywhere from 10 to 20, were all armed to the teeth, and intimidated staff and patrons while holding the store hostage for “three hours.”
“We had people come with military-style outfits with machine guns and hold our employee hostage,” said Rubin Swift, a managing partner of the store, to WJW News. “Some of them had masks on…Some carrying weapons. They terrified our employees and customers. We do not want them here. We did not ask them to be here. They took over.”
“It was like a Russian takeover,” Swift said. “They kept coming back…They told us to call and get the charges (against Tolbert) dropped or they will be here every day.”
The store’s owner allegedly told police that Tolbert threatened to return with 50 people and “shut down the store” if he didn’t pay him for his “services,” the report states. This led to some staff refusing to return to work.
After Tolbert’s arrest, New Era did precisely that, this time returning to the location demanding charges be dropped altogether.
In a request for comment, Tolbert claimed his group only showed up to the gas station in response to a group of “youths” fighting in the parking lot, intending to “de-escalate” the situation. Tolbert said that when he confronted the owner about what he was doing to “protect” Black kids from violence, the owner said it wasn’t his problem.
He then allegedly posted his armed group in front of the store and ordered them to turn away potential customers. “It all boiled down to their lack of concern for the safety of the community,” said Tolbert to Cleveland.com.
Tolbert claims that the accusations against him are “false” and that he was unaware of the extortion charge. He also claims his Black racial militia does not solicit money from private businesses.
However, videos posted to New Era Cleveland’s social media accounts clearly show the group does provide for-profit security services. Known as “New Era Elite Security,” the group promises “safety and professionalism” while offering potential clients an armed presence at block parties, funerals, candlelight vigils, and other private events known to attract violence in Black neighborhoods.
One video lists a phone number for New Era Elite, a testimonial, and a request to “book us.” It had been posted to New Era Cleveland’s Instagram account at least three times in recent months. The advertisement would appear alongside videos of the group deployed to Juneteenth celebrations, community marches, and local gun ranges for target practice.
While Tolbert is innocent until proven guilty, this would not be the first time Tolbert and his militancy landed in hot water with local authorities.
In 2022, Tolbert patrolled the streets of Cleveland armed in full military kit. When concerned citizens called the police about a suspicious Black man with heavy weapons, Cleveland Sgt. Lance Henderson drew his firearm and ordered Tolbert to stand down.
Tolbert refused and was detained. His subsequent lawsuit for “wrongful arrest” earned him $85,000 in settlement funds. Additionally, the White cop was suspended for 13 days without pay over the incident for merely trying to keep the peace.
Since the 2020 summer of racial reckoning, progressives and other anti-White figures have often promoted the idea of Black self-policing as a way to avoid police killings and racial schisms. New Age Cleveland is but one of several different armed groups proclaiming to be “making a difference” in Black communities.
The insurrectionary Black liberation militia, the Not Fucking Around Coalition (NFAC), has also picked up this alarming torch, albeit with dubious results. In 2021, lax saftey and poor training led to the “negligent” discharge of a weapon, injuring three Blacks during a march in Louisville, Kentucky.
Exactly one year later, NFAC militia leader, 59-year-old John Johnson, aka Grand Master Jay, was sentenced to over seven years behind bars for assaulting and threatening federal task force officers during a protest in support of slain drug accomplice Breonna Taylor.
Meanwhile, when Black Americans are introduced into the rank-and-file of traditional policing institutions, an innocent public often comes face to face with corruption and abuse of power. In May, the Black “diversity hire” police chief of Houston, Texas, was forced to resign after an investigation revealed that under his watch, 260,000 unworked cases were being dismissed by cops.
Later that month, a disgraced Black cop already on suspension for intoxicated driving was arrested for the shooting and killing of an unarmed Lyft driver over what he believed was a conspiracy by a “gay fraternity.”
In April, a former cop for the city of Indianapolis was arrested and charged with rape, after authorities said the Black civil servant used his position to “take advantage” of domestic violence victims he was supposed to assist.
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