The Black Hammer Party, an anti-capitalist and anti-colonial political group, is currently being investigated for several criminal offenses, including kidnapping and human trafficking, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported on Tuesday.
Black Hammer leader Augustus Claudius Romain Jr. and a top lieutenant, Xavier “Keno” Rushin, were arrested for alleged participation in a kidnapping and sexual assault case that occurred in July. The crime took place in a home which the group had rented in Fayetteville, Georgia.
Federal and local authorities are also investigating the group for additional drug and weapon offenses. Fayetteville Police Street Gang Investigator Diana Snider testified that she began investigating the Black Hammer Party when she discovered that the group had relocated its headquarters to her town.
Snider was called to testify regarding a kidnapping case in which Romain, 36, and Rushin, 21, were allegedly involved. The victim was a homeless man who claimed that on July 19, the suspects kidnapped him, locked him in a garage, and held him at gunpoint.
Hellbound and Down 