A staff member of then-California Attorney General Kamala Harris was arrested several years ago for allegedly impersonating a police officer and claiming to belong to a police department with ties to Freemasonry, according to multiple reports at the time.
In 2015, Brandon Keel, Harris' former deputy community affairs director, sent a series of letters and made numerous phone calls to law enforcement agencies across California, attempting to set up meetings on behalf of the so-called Masonic Fraternal Order of Police Departments (MFPD), a fake police organization where Harris claimed to be the “chief deputy chief.” According to the Sacramento Bee report At the time, Keel eventually secured a meeting with Detective Roosevelt Johnson of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, but was later arrested after he was unable to answer basic questions about the mission and jurisdiction of the Masonic police department.
Police arrested Keel along with two others, David Henry, who described himself as a “grandmaster” of the Freemasons and leader of the fake police force, and a woman named Tonette Hayes from the Los Angeles Times. reportThe former aide was eventually charged with six counts of impersonating a police officer, but the charges were dropped in 2016 after a judge ruled that police had improperly searched his vehicle. (RELATED: Tim Waltz's Church Doesn't Like Calling God “He,” Supports Reparations and Pride Parades)
In two separate searches, law enforcement recovered badges, identification cards, weapons, uniforms, vehicles and other law enforcement equipment belonging to the three individuals. according to They told BuzzFeed News that the group's vehicles were painted to resemble police cars.
Henry came forward as Keel's stepfather in 2014. YouTube videosAccording to the Los Angeles Times, he walked around in a dark blue police uniform and introduced himself to people as the police chief. “He acted like a cop and his uniform looked just like a regular cop's, so we all thought he was a real cop,” said a chef at a restaurant he frequented.
“If you ask us what makes the Masonic Fraternal Order of Police Department different from other police departments, the answer is simple for us,” an archived version of the now-defunct Masonic Fraternal Order of Police Department website reads. read“We were here first! We were born into this organization, and our lineage runs deeper than an application.”
The organization claims on its website to be “the oldest and most respected organization in the world,” and claims to have been founded by the Knights Templar in 1000 B.C. The MFPD claims to have 500,000 members and has jurisdiction over 33 states, including Mexico City.
“The Masonic Fraternal Police Department (MFPD) serves the highest leadership of Freemasonry and its jurisdiction, as well as other fraternities, sororities and Greek organizations,” the organization's website states.
“The attorney general appointed me. I have her authority,” Keir said in a 2014 YouTube video while wearing what appeared to be Masonic regalia.
“The Attorney General has been concerned by these serious allegations from the moment he was first briefed on the investigation,” Harris spokesman David Beltran told the Bee at the time. “The agency has cooperated with investigators from the beginning and will continue to do so as the investigation progresses.”
According to the Los Angeles Times, Harris' office placed Keele on paid administrative leave on April 30, 2015, the day of his arrest.
Harris isn't the only California Democrat Keil has ties to: The former staffer was photographed next to Rep. Maxine Waters in 2012 after she received an award from Keil's purported Masonic organization, according to the Los Angeles Sentinel. report.
The Harris campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.
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