Fayetteville mayor withdrawing proclamation

FAYETTEVILLE, NC (AP) — Fayetteville Mayor Tony Chavonne says he didn’t know much about the group when he issued a proclamation for Moorish American week in the city.

The Fayetteville Observer reports Chavonne has decided to withdraw the proclamation, after he learned the group has tried to file court documents declaring they are separate from the United States.

The mayor says the city staff had endorsed the request and apparently also was unaware a Cumberland County judge had refused to allow the group to file paperwork declaring their sovereignty.

The group’s leader in Fayetteville is Noble David El Bey. He says the proclamation already has been issued so he’s not worried about the mayor’s attempt to retract it.

The Southern Poverty Law Center says the group has an anti-government philosophy.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)