Police warned about cult, former Packer, complaint says
Two men charged after bringing firearms to Christmas pageant
GREEN BAY – Even before police were called to arrest two armed men at a school Christmas pageant Dec. 17, they were keeping an eye on the place and watching out for former Green Bay Packers player Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila.
Gbaja-Biamila and the two men, Jordan Salmi, 24, of Onalaska, and Ryan Desmith, 22, of Friendship, are all members of a group that police referred to as a cult. Gbaja-Biamila reportedly had harassed the pastor of the church putting on the Christmas concert, according to a criminal complaints filed late last week in Brown County Circuit Court.
Salmi and Desmith were found to be carrying concealed semi-automatic pistols with a total of 34 rounds of ammunition when they went to the holiday event at Assembly of God Church, 1460 Shawano Ave, according to the criminal complaints against them.
The two are charged in Brown County Circuit Court with misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct and carrying concealed weapons. Desmith also is charged with obstructing officers. Their first court appearances are Jan. 7.
Gbaja-Biamila was not arrested or charged in connection to the incident.
The charges against Salmi and Desmith are based on an incident Dec. 17. at the Assembly of God Church, which was hosting a pageant being put on by the private Providence Academy.
Salmi and Desmith went to the church at Gbaja-Biamila’s direction to videotape the performance, according to a YouTube video Gbaja-Biamila put out to fellow members of his church, Straitway Truth Ministry, which identifies itself as a Hebrew Israelite or Black Hebrew group.
Police had received directions on Dec. 17 to keep an eye out at the Assembly of God church because Gbaja-Biamila has made YouTube videos that contained threatening messages to Providence Academy and headmaster Ron Jung, the complaints say.
Gbaja-Biamila has two children who attend Providence Academy, and police say he objected to their attending the school and to participating in the Christmas program. The criminal complaints against the other men indicate Gbaja-Biamila has 50% custody of his children but he hasn’t seen them for at least two years.
The other men have no children attending Assembly of God or Providence Academy. When Jung asked them to leave, they refused, police said.
When police arrived at the church shortly after 6 p.m. Dec. 17, Jung reported two men whom he knew to be associates of Gbaja-Biamila were on site and refusing to leave. Jung told police Gbaja-Biamila “and his followers are very big into concealed carry and are usually concealing weapons on their person,” the complaints say.
At least four officers arrived at the scene and confronted the two men in the audience after Jung pointed them out. Both men had to be forcibly lifted out of their chairs and handcuffed because they refused to leave, the complaints say.
Salmi and Desmith were each found to be carrying
concealed Taurus Millennium G2 semiautomatic pistols with magazines loaded with 11 or 12 rounds, according to the complaints. Desmith also had an extra magazine in his pants pocket that was loaded with another 11 rounds, and he was carrying a knife with a 4 1⁄2-inch blade, the complaint says.
Salmi was identified by his Illinois driver’s license, but Desmith refused to identify himself by name or birthdate, the complaints say.
As police escorted the two out of the church, they met with Gbaja-Biamila, whom they identified as being “the leader of the cult.”
An unidentified woman who was with Gbaja-Biamila videotaped as police talked with Gbaja-Biamila, who “appeared to be very angry,” and kept talking on a cellphone with someone police said “seemed to be a leader of some sort.”
Police asked Gbaja-Biamila if his children were in the church, and GbajaBiamila said they weren’t his children, they were his property and that he intended to get his property and leave, the complaints say.
After arguing with police, Gbaja-Biamila agreed to leave, but he said he needed his “brothers” — meaning Desmith and Salmi — to come with him. Eventually at Gbaja-Biamila’s urging, Desmith identified himself, but neither he nor Gbaja-Biamila wanted to provide Desmith’s date of birth, claiming it’s not part of their religion to use birth dates, Gbaja-Biamila told police.
Gbaja-Biamila refused to leave without the other two men, and at one point, he made “at least two or three strong target glances” at one of the officers’ sidearm, the complaints say. Police grabbed him by the arms and were prepared to handcuff him, but, after arguing, he agreed to leave peacefully, the complaints state.
Police escorted Gbaja-Biamila’s exwife and children out of the church and to their vehicle, the complaints say.
Jung canceled school for the next two days, and started Christmas break early, because of “fear that Kabeer was going to retaliate either at Providence Academy or the pastor,” the complaints say.
Police later put out an alert to other local schools warning them to be on the lookout for any of the three men on their school property.
Later that night, after Gbaja-Biamila had bailed Desmith and Salmi out of jail, the three men and an unidentified fourth person showed up at the Green Bay Police Department to demand that the men’s firearms be returned to them, the complaints say. Police denied the request, saying the guns were being held as evidence.
Gbaja-Biamila said the two men would bill the police lieutenant $1,000 a day for “fair and enjoyment use,” the complaints say. He didn’t explain what that meant, but the lieutenant told them he “was done and not going to play in their pretend world.” He directed them to mail the bill.
They remained at the police station for nearly 20 minutes, knocking on the door or window and calling dispatch demanding the return of their property, the complaints say.
Before leaving, they left a bill for $1,095, with carbon copy, on the counter for the lieutenant. It included no biller information or mailing address.
Gbaja-Biamila, a fifth-round draft pick by the Packers in 2000 out of San Diego State, played his entire nine-year NFL career in Green Bay. The 6-4, 250pound defensive end recorded doubledigits sacks for four straight seasons (2001-04), with career highs of 13.5 in both 2001 and ’04.
He earned Pro Bowl honors in 2003. He finished his career with 74.5 total sacks and was inducted into the Packers Hall of Fame in 2013.
The Black Hebrew Israelites movement is based on a black separatist theology dating to the 19th century that preaches people of color are the true children of God, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center. There is a rising extremist sector within the movement, and the Southern Poverty Law Center currently lists 144 Black Hebrew Israelite organizations as black separatist hate groups because of their antisemitic and anti-white beliefs.
Earlier this month, two people with expressed interest in the religious movement were killed in a shootout with police after murdering a detective at a cemetery and three people at a kosher supermarket in Jersey City, New Jersey.
Members of the movement, including Gbaja-Biamila, have expressed anger that the media and police linked the shooters to the Black Hebrew movement.