MEMPHIS, TN (abc24.com) - They're appealing to a government they don’t believe in, asking that their Moorish American sister be set free. Tabitha Gentry, also known as Abka Re Bey, was arrested last week after breaking into a $3 million east Memphis mansion. A bank owns the foreclosed home, but Gentry claimed it as her own.
Now the Moorish National Republic is bombarding everyone from First Lady Michelle Obama, to Shelby County Sheriff's deputies with emails. They claim Gentry's arrest was "kidnapping" and that her $2 million bond is "ransom."
The Shelby County Sheriff's spokesperson, Chip Washington, says they've been receiving emails since Gentry was arrested, "I don't know who they're effective for, the people who are writing them?" Washington says, "For us it's just kind of a clutter in the inbox."
The emails say the arrest of Gentry was a violation of a treaty with the U.S. They demand the release of the self-proclaimed Moorish American National.
One email states, "Fearing for her life and the life of her children Gentry was unable to come out of the home and engage in normal affairs." However on Thursday, just hours before her arrest, ABC 24 News met Gentry at the mansion's gate as she returned in her Jaguar.
The emails say Gentry was "kidnapped," her children held for ransom and human trafficking by the Department of Children Services. They call the bank that owns the mansion, a "fictitious entity."
The District Attorney's office says the emails have no bearing on the criminal charges against Gentry. The Sheriff's Office isn't worried either. "We followed the letter of the law and we did what we needed to do to rectify the situation safely, that's what we did." Washington says, "We feel pretty comfortable with the verdict."
Gentry is expected to appear in court at the end of the month.
