Facebook removed the account of the person identified as the deceased suspect in Friday’s attack outside the U.S. Capitol, which killed one U.S. Capitol Police officer and injured at least one more.
Noah Green, said to be a 25-year-old from Indiana, described himself as a “Follower of Farrakhan” and vocal member of the Nation of Islam. Authorities are investigating the attack and have not yet announced a motive.
Green was identified by numerous news outlets as the man who law enforcement officials say rammed his car into at least two members of the Capitol Police, smashed the vehicle into a barricade on Constitution Avenue, jumped out wielding a knife, and was shot and killed by police. All three were taken to a hospital.
The Capitol Police said Officer William “Billy” Evans succumbed to his injuries at around 1:30 p.m., less than half an hour after the attack. The suspect was taken into custody and later was declared dead. The other officer who was struck by the car is in stable and nonthreatening condition, Capitol Police said.
Green’s posts on Facebook, which were quickly removed by the social media company, made it clear he was going through personal struggles, indulged in conspiratorial thinking, was a follower of the Nation of Islam, a breakaway religion drawing some beliefs from Sunni Islam but also based in part in the belief of black superiority over white people, and was a fan of Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, who is well known for racist and anti-Semitic views.
“After this horrific event, our thoughts are with the Capitol Police and their loved ones,” Facebook told the Washington Examiner on Friday. “We have designated the incident under our Dangerous Individuals and Organizations policy, which means we have removed the suspect’s accounts from Facebook and Instagram, and are removing any content that praises, supports, or represents the attack or the suspect. We are in contact with law enforcement as they conduct their investigation.” Facebook often takes down the accounts of high-profile suspects in killings.
Media outlets such as NBC, CNN, the Daily Beast, and others also reported that law enforcement sources had identified Green as the attacker. Green’s Facebook posts, reviewed by the Washington Examiner, showed he referred to himself as “Brother Noah X” as he explained his religious views and personal problems in recent weeks.
“To be honest these past few years have been tough, and these past few months have been tougher. I have been tried with some of the biggest, unimaginable tests in my life. I am currently now unemployed after I left my job partly due to afflictions, but ultimately, in search of a spiritual journey,” Green wrote on March 17. “I haven’t had much to lean on the past few months, I’ve been faced with fear, hunger, loss of wealth, and diminution of fruit. My faith is one of the only things that has been able to carry me through these times and my faith is centered on the belief of the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan as Jesus, the Messiah, the final divine reminder in our midst.”
Green claimed, “I was on the right track and everything I had planned was coming into existence” and that “it required long hours, lots of studying, and exercise to keep me balanced while experiencing an array of concerning symptoms along the path (I believe to be side effects of drugs I was intaking unknowingly).” He said, “However, the path has been thwarted, as Allah (God) has chosen me for other things.”
The suspect seemed to consider Farrakhan to be Jesus, writing, “So, if you question this man as the Jesus, I recommend taking a look at his life’s work and the blessings Allah has filled him with. The raiser of the dead to life, making the blind see, and the deaf hear (I bear witness). Preaching to the multitudes, calling a million black men to Washington, and standing up to the most powerful government of modern times.”
Green attended Christopher Newport University in Newport News, Virginia, where he graduated with a degree in finance in 2019. He played on the school’s football team, and Green’s player profile from 2018 said he was born in Fairlea, West Virginia, and that he has seven sisters and two brothers. The website said the “person in history he’d most like to meet” was Malcolm X, one of the more famous advocates for the Nation of Islam who eventually left the religious group in 1964 before being assassinated in 1965.
The Nation of Islam includes a belief in the superiority of black people over white people, including the view that white people were created by an evil scientist named Yakub 6,000 years ago, and Elijah Muhammad, who led the Nation of Islam for three decades before Farrakhan and considered himself a messenger of Allah, called white people devils. Farrakhan, who has led the group for decades, is known for his racist and anti-Semitic rhetoric. He said in 1984 that “Hitler was a very great man” and in 2015 that “white people deserve to die.” Farrakhan has also promoted Dianetics and forged a relationship with the Church of Scientology. He famously helped organize the 1995 Million Man March on Washington, D.C.
Acting Metropolitan Police Department Chief Robert Contee said during a brief Friday press conference that its homicide division will investigate the attack. Contee declared the incident does not appear to be related to terrorism at this time, though he did not explain how he had reached such a conclusion so quickly, and said the suspect was not previously known to MPD and the Capitol Police.
“It is with profound sadness that I share the news of the passing of Officer William ‘Billy’ Evans this afternoon from injuries he sustained following an attack at the North Barricade by a lone assailant. Officer Evans had been a member of the United States Capitol Police for 18 years,” acting Capitol Police Chief Yogananda Pittman said in a Friday evening statement. “He began his USCP service on March 7, 2003, and was a member of the Capitol Division’s First Responder’s Unit. Please keep Officer Evans and his family in your thoughts and prayers.” Capitol Police said the other injured officer was in stable and nonthreatening condition.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi ordered flags to be flown at half-staff at the U.S. Capitol to honor Evans, and President Joe Biden ordered flags to be flown at half-staff at the White House and upon all public buildings and grounds, at all military posts and naval stations, and on all naval vessels throughout the U.S. and its territories until sunset on Tuesday.
“Jill and I were heartbroken to learn of the violent attack at a security checkpoint on the U.S. Capitol grounds, which killed Officer William Evans of the U.S. Capitol Police, and left a fellow officer fighting for his life. We send our heartfelt condolences to Officer Evans’ family, and everyone grieving his loss. We know what a difficult time this has been for the Capitol, everyone who works there, and those who protect it,” Biden said in a statement.
“The entire Department of Justice mourns with the U.S. Capitol Police and the family of Officer William Evans,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said. “Our thoughts are also with the other brave officer injured in the attack. As the members of the U.S. Capitol Police have demonstrated this year, they will give their all to defend the seat of our democracy. The Washington Field Office of the FBI is assisting the Metropolitan Police Department with their investigation of this tragic attack.”
FBI Director Christopher Wray said: “I am deeply saddened by today’s tragic events at the U.S. Capitol. On behalf of the FBI, I would like to express our deepest condolences to the family and friends of the brave officers who were attacked today while doing their jobs, protecting the Capitol and those who work there.”
