Greenwood, S.C. Council Member claims to be "Afro-Pithecus"

Some solid gold here, folks. As posted in the Greenwood, SC print newspaper the Index-Journal and its website (subscription, so full article no longer accessible), Greenwood council member and local A.M.E. pastor Fred M. Armfield was arrested for soliciting a prostitute. Things became strange afterward. Quoting from the first place I heard of the case:

News of the Weird wrote:

At first, Rev. Fred Armfield's arrest for patronizing a prostitute in
Greenwood, S.C., in January looked uncontroversial, with Armfield
allegedly confessing that he had bargained Melinda "Truck Stop" Robinson
down from $10 to $5 for oral sex. Several days later, however, Armfield
formally disputed the arrest, calling himself a "descendant of the
original Moro-Pithecus Disoch, Kenyapithecus and Afro Pithecus," a
"living flesh and blood being with sovereign status," and someone who,
based on his character and community standing, should not be prosecuted.
Also, he claimed that any payment to "Truck Stop" with Federal Reserve
Notes did not legally constitute a purchase since such notes are not
lawful money.

As you'll see, the part that this nutter was a COUNCILMAN didn't even get mentioned. For unknown/unlisted reason, he was previously suspended from the Greenwood council BY GOVERNOR'S EXECUTIVE ORDER in 1997: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
What the hell did he do then? He knowingly assisted in the preparing and filing of "false documents", 5 counts.

In between these incidents, he somehow found time *cough* to get interviewed by Time magazine in 2008: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Time wrote:

The Rev. Fred Armfield, pastor of the Little Zion AME Church in
Greenwood, says the black church has all but lost its electoral
influence over African-American voters, and he's glad. "This generation
has grown and is intelligent enough that it doesn't need a driver at the
polls," says Armfield. "I don't take a position from the pulpit. I know
the people in my congregation are independent thinkers." That said,
however, he's backing Clinton. "The Clintons have always been good to
the African-American community, and I'm staying with them," he says. He
knows many black voters in Greenwood are torn between Clinton and Obama
but says that's a good thing if it raises black turnout.

Well, it's an awful good thing you don't exert much leadership on your flock, Mr. Armfield. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
Google reveals that his mom died in 2006 (sorry for him I guess?), although she was a Baptist and not A.M.E., which makes where he's coming from a little weird: they're not really alike. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] He was one of 11 kids, though that's probably unrelated to just how batshit he is. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
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Also, apparently nobody has warned these guys yet either:
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...he's also the chapter president of the Greenwood SC State Alumni Association

I think that's enough Googling, I'd better stop before it turns out his ex-wife is a Hydra suing for custody of its heads. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
How the fuck do people like this hold any position higher than polishing lavatories without someone copping to the crazy?

Quote :

Armfield allegedly confessing that he had bargained Melinda "Truck Stop" Robinson down from $10 to $5 for oral sex.

Also, his standards are low as FUCK. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Whores!
HUH!
What are they good for?

Must be something in the water in the Palmetto State. They're getting as bad as Florida.

total kook wrote:

descendant of the original Moro-Pithecus Disoch, Kenyapithecus and Afro Pithecus

What does this even mean? Something to do with human evolution by the looks of it, but damned if I can discern what point he's trying to make.

If anyone's curious, I found that the fraud had to do with attempting to fudge things in order to open bingo halls for the blind. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
Attempting to claim people were on the board of the organization who weren't and alleging non-profit status which didn't exist, too.

Let's reiterate: federal fraud in order to open BINGO HALLS FOR THE BLIND.
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eta: He was the president of the local United Society of the Blind (and I have yet to see any evidence he's, y'know, blind). He also didn't get any serious jail time, as he went to a funeral in 2002.

szaleniec wrote:

total kook wrote:

descendant of the original Moro-Pithecus Disoch, Kenyapithecus and Afro Pithecus

What does this even mean? Something to do with human evolution by the looks of it, but damned if I can discern what point he's trying to make.

I can't find anything on Moro-Pithicus Disoch on either Google or Wikipedia. I can't even find it in any of the online dictionaries or encyclopedias. My guess is that they either misspelled it, or he made it up.

Kenyapithecus (also known as Kenyapithecus wikeri) was a fossilize ape discovered by Louis Leaky in 1961 in Fort Ternan, Kenya. Leaky originally believed it to be a possible precursor to The Great Apes, but it's since been downgraded to being more primitive.

Afropithecus (it's all one word) is another fossilized ape discovered by Leaky and his wife in Kenya in 1986. Once again, they believed it to be a precursor to the Great Apes that eventually evolved into humans, but this also since been disproved with further study.

None of these specimens were ever declared to be possible ancestor of humans, and were considered slightly more advanced apes. And yes, I know how that sounds, given that the gentlemen in question in black, but I'm just stating the facts here, and he's the one who started it.

All the references I can find to them on Google, BTW, involve this story. If anyone knows what the Moro-Pithicus disoch might actually be, feel free to enlighten us.

My diagnosis is that the man in question may have some knowledge of anthropology and pulled these out of his ass. The rest of it just sounds like he's decided he's a special snowflake to whom the rules don't apply. It would not surprise me that him being a pastor plays a certain part in it as well; my father was a minister, and I've known a fair number of ministers in my lifetime who had this idea that, since they were 'doing God's work,' the laws somehow didn't apply to them.

So basically, he is claiming to be a homo sepian?

I think he's trying to catch up on the legwork for his insanity defense.

Dick Powers wrote:

So basically, he is claiming to be a homo sepian?

That's what it boils down to, yeah.

Actually it sounds like another version of the antitax nonsense I've seen before. The basic idea is to claim that the law as currently constituted is not legitimate for one reason or another, and hence it does not apply to you. His Federal Reserve comment reflects fairly common attitudes on the antitax fringe in the States, that the Federal Reserve was not legitimately established and that current US money isn't legitimate. Often the fact that the gold standard was abandoned as the basis for US currency is included in such ideas. The bit about being a "living flesh and blood being with sovereign status" sounds like the the kind of language used by a group here in Canada calling itself the Church of the Ecumenical Redemption, who claim current Canadian law isn't legitimate because it doesn't use the King James Version of the Bible as a legal text. Of course this means that they are perfectly in their right to do things like drive without licenses and vehicle registration.

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Afro-Pithecus?
Don't be ridiculous!
I'll show you some magic trick-u-lus!

tim gueguen wrote:

Actually it sounds like another version of the antitax nonsense I've seen before. The basic idea is to claim that the law as currently constituted is not legitimate for one reason or another, and hence it does not apply to you. His Federal Reserve comment reflects fairly common attitudes on the antitax fringe in the States, that the Federal Reserve was not legitimately established and that current US money isn't legitimate. Often the fact that the gold standard was abandoned as the basis for US currency is included in such ideas. The bit about being a "living flesh and blood being with sovereign status" sounds like the the kind of language used by a group here in Canada calling itself the Church of the Ecumenical Redemption, who claim current Canadian law isn't legitimate because it doesn't use the King James Version of the Bible as a legal text. Of course this means that they are perfectly in their right to do things like drive without licenses and vehicle registration.

I guess Canadians can be just as dumb as Americans.

I saw the thread title and thought this would be something like Afro-Samurai.

I am very disappointed.

Mikey Go WOOGA wrote:

I saw the thread title and thought this would be something like Afro-Samurai.

I am very disappointed.

I would also be dissapoint, but at least there was a hooker in the story.



Granted, 40 years old/$5/nicknamed "Truckstop"...

Carrion Crawler wrote:

Mikey Go WOOGA wrote:

I saw the thread title and thought this would be something like Afro-Samurai.

I am very disappointed.

I would also be dissapoint, but at least there was a hooker in the story.



Granted, 40 years old/$5/nicknamed "Truckstop"...

*Thumbs through wallet*

. . .

TO SOUTH CAROLINA! [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

tim gueguen wrote:

Actually it sounds like another version of the antitax nonsense I've seen before. The basic idea is to claim that the law as currently constituted is not legitimate for one reason or another, and hence it does not apply to you.

Ah yes, the Kent Hovind approach to taxation.

Perhaps he's confused his profession with his legal status? Church's are tax-exempt. Ministers are not.