In light of Vice President Kamala Harris’ presumptive status as Democratic nominee in the 2024 election, the airing/re-airing of her dirty laundry has begun in full force. One of the most bizarre scandals associated with her stint as California’s so-called Top Cop, however, has been effectively memory-holed.

Remember when one of California Attorney General Harris’ top staffers was implicated in a scheme to illicitly operate a clandestine police force on behalf of the world’s oldest secret society? Neither did we. This eerie case first came to our attention over the past week when Patrick Howley of the National File revisited the strange and still unexplained story in a recent article.

While various mainstream outlets reported on these events between 2015 and 2016, none have adequately probed the full significance of the scandal. In particular, the extent of the relationship between Kamala Harris and the suspects has been effectively ignored.

What the news reported

To condense existing news reports on these events, three individuals, including then state Attorney General Kamala Harris’ former deputy director of community affairs Brandon Kiel, were arrested for impersonating police officers in and around Los Angeles in April 2015. The suspects, Brandon Kiel, Kiel’s father-in-law David Inkk Henry, and Tonette Hayes, had claimed to be members of an organization calling itself The Masonic Fraternal Police Department, which had falsely presented itself to the public and to local police as a licit organization acting as a law enforcement agency for internal issues pertaining to the Masonic Order. Per NBC News, Police detectives stated that MFPD intended to deceive the community and law enforcement “for a purpose yet to be determined.”

Brandon Kiel and David Henry (alternately known as Grandmaster Henry X) were both known to be Freemasons affiliated with a local lodge of African American Freemasons in the LA area, and Henry, the head of the organization per the MFPD’s archived website, was a thirty-third degree Masonic Grand Master “elected and [...] Governed by a Grand Supreme Council” who “currently oversees a 1/2 Million members throughout the United States.” (Several news outlets noted that, although Henry was not recognized as a police officer, he was seen standing with law enforcement officers during a televised press conference on the Trayvon Martin shooting, and that both Henry and Kiel were photographed in 2012 with Representative Maxine Waters.)

The mission statement from the MFPD website claims that the so-called law enforcement organization, based out of Santa Clarita, served the purpose of protecting Masonic Grand Masters and their families around the world. The web page states:

The Masonic Fraternal Police Department (M.F.P.D.) provides services to Masonic Sovereign Grand Masters and their Masonic Jurisdictions, as well as other Fraternities, Sororities and Greek Organizations. Masonic Fraternal Police Department will be located in 33 other states, including Mexico City. We support all law enforcement agencies. Our mission is to preserve the integrity, honor and legacy of our Founding Fathers, Masonic Organizations, all Grand Masters and their Constitution /By Laws. We will uphold our sworn obligation to protect Sovereign Grand Masters and their jurisdictions.

In January 2015, the so-called MFPD had reached out to multiple law enforcement agencies throughout southern California, and actually managed to secure a meeting with Santa Clarita Valley sheriff’s captain Roosevelt Johnson on February 4, 2015, according to CBS News. In this meeting, the group laid out their claim to be descendents of the Knights Templar, the legendary progenitors of the Freemasons, and claimed “sovereign jurisdiction in 33 states and in Mexico.” CBS News reports:

Henry and Hayes showed up in black jumpsuits with Masonic Fraternal Police patches and stars on their collars. Hayes had a handgun on her utility belt, Johnson said. Kiel was there too, wearing a dark navy business suit. They told Johnson they were opening a new Canyon Country police station. Johnson said he grew wary when they couldn't answer questions about where they derived their authority, or jurisdictional issues. "Brandon Kiel gave me a business card from the Department of Justice, showing he worked out of Kamala Harris' office," Johnson said. "That really raised red flags for me."

Following the meeting, law enforcement searched two homes tied to the suspects and seized evidence including “badges, identification cards, weapons, uniforms, police type vehicles and other law enforcement equipment,” ultimately leading to the arrest of Brandon Kiel, David Henry, and Tonette Hayes on suspicion of impersonating police officers. (The full list of charges against the suspects can be viewed through the Los Angeles court website under case number PA083410.)

The LA Times reports that AG Kamala Harris “received regular briefings on the case since it began,” and that Harris cooperated with law enforcement during the investigation.

During the trial, Kiel claimed that the purpose of the organization was limited to matters internal to the Masonic order, and maintained that the MFPD did not take 911 calls.

The charges against Kiel were eventually reduced after David Henry died of a pulmonary embolism hours after appearing in LA County Superior Court. The LA Times reports:

At a preliminary hearing in January, all but four counts against him were dismissed, but L.A. County Superior Court Judge Monica Bachner let stand the misdemeanor counts of perjury and conspiracy to commit perjury. In arguing to have the remaining charges dismissed, Kiel’s lawyer said that detectives had conducted an improper search of his client’s personal computer and that evidence found on it should be dropped. Casselman [Kiel’s lawyer] contended that the search warrant used in the probe did not cover Kiel’s vehicle, a Ford Mustang issued by the state for use by Department of Justice employees, or his laptop, which was found in the car. The attorney said that even if the search of Kiel’s Mustang was valid, law enforcement could not search the computer since it violated the 4th Amendment.

As of April 2016, it was confirmed that Kiel no longer worked for the Department of Justice. (It appears that he is currently working as a realtor in California.)

What the news did not report

While the media noted Brandon Kiel’s professional relationship with Harris, and several outlets acknowledged that David Henry had an eccentric social media presence, the contents of Henry’s online presence have not received due attention. Clips of Henry posted both on his Youtube channel (@grandmasterhenryx4923) and another account (@esthermay7138) suggest that the bizarre scandal may run deeper than the news reported.

Between March and August of 2014, David Henry’s Youtube channel posted a number of short clips, the titles of which alternately refer to him as “Grandmaster Henry X” and “Illuminati Grandmaster Henry X.”

One video shows David Henry speaking at the Los Angeles area Emmy Awards, in which he and his colleagues receive an Emmy Award for the KTTV investigtive report “Terror Connection” (clip cross-referenced against this article). In the clip, Henry thanks figures including Fox News anchor Geraldo Rivera and rapper Ice T for his success. (It is not clear in what capacity Henry worked on the investigative report, or the nature of his ties with the notables mentioned.)

In another video, Henry’s son-in-law Brandon Kiel credits both Kamala Harris and Diane Feinstein for his career while speaking to a group of Freemasons. Henry’s channel also posted a clip from what appears to be a town hall meeting in which Brandon Kiel is introduced as a trusted representative of “top cop” Kamala Harris (@1:20). Elsewhere, Henry claims that Kiel and his associates in the MFPD were in fact responsible for the placement of key figures in the LA Sheriff’s Department.

Perhaps the most unusual item on Henry’s channel is a video titled “ILLUMINATI GRANDMASTER HENRY X & GRAND COUNCIL” in which a young woman dressed in a checkerboard shirt speaks rather suggestively on her relationship with Henry’s Masonic organization. The woman (whose name appears in the title of the video but will not be reproduced here for privacy purposes) addresses Henry and Kiel, saying:

I want to give thanks to Grandmaster Henry and Grand Priest Kiel. I want to thank my brothers for giving me my obligations. I’m ready to be a part of this great organization yall. Keep an eye out for me because I’m coming, coming, coming.

While the precise nature of the woman’s “obligations” are not described in explicit detail, the reader can watch the video themselves and judge from the woman’s tone whether something of a sexual nature is implied.

Following his arrest, numerous short clips of Henry speaking on the scandal were posted by the Youtube account @esthermay7138. In the clips, Henry is pictured in front of a mantle with Masonic paraphernalia, and conspicuously displays Masonic hand gestures.

In a video titled “TO CALIF. ATTORNEY GENERAL KAMALA HARRIS,” Henry claims that the prosecution against the MFPD was actually a conspiracy by a “certain group” to undermine Harris’ political career:

To California attorney general Kamala Harris, we sent out faxes and emails to all agencies and all sources connected to us. We want you to understand that there is a certain group out there trying to destroy your campaign for senate. That’s why they attacked us. That’s why they attacked Brandon Kiel.

He elaborates in another video titled “LEROY GUILLORY TRYING TO DESTROY ATTORNEY GENERAL,” claiming that the LA Sheriff’s Department had threatened the life of him and his associates:

[The] people behind trying to destroy Kamala Harris’ campaign is Leroy Guillory, Mayor Chris Brown of Hawthorne, California, and the LA Sheriff Department, and the LA Times. They blasted Brandon Kiel’s face all over the front page. It wasn’t about the Masonic Fraternal Police Department, but now it is about the Masonic Fraternal Police Department, because LA Sheriff detective Amalia Hernandez put a hit out on my life and members of my Masonic Fraternal Sovereign Jurisdiction’s life. I’m saying this because this ain’t going good. This isn’t gonna be good. If you wanna kill me, bring it!

While it is not surprising that the investigation against the MFPD earned Henry’s ire, it is not clear why he interpreted the actions of law enforcement against his organization as a literal death threat.

Analysis

All this is thoroughly puzzling, and it can be tempting to write the whole thing off as little more than the antics of eccentric, paranoid, or downright deluded individuals. However, when we consider news reports on the scandal in light of the additional info provided above, several serious lines of inquiry emerge.

First, let’s reiterate some basic facts:

• Henry and Kiel were members of established Masonic organizations.
  
• Both were men of professional stature with strong reputations in their communities. Kiel had a close working relationship with Kamala Harris and with other prominent figures in California politics. Henry was evidently a successful professional with ties to notable figures in news and entertainment media.
  
• The defendants evidently had the financial resources and professional connections to convincingly impersonate law enforcement, down to uniforms, weapons, and police vehicles, and claimed to have a wide network of associates involved in the MFPD.
  
• The defendants managed to secure meetings with ranking law enforcement officials while openly describing themselves as Masonic police. News reports clearly indicate that law enforcement officials only began to suspect them after the in-person meetings.
  
• After being charged, Henry published videos in which he directly addressed AG Harris, claiming that the prosecution of the MFPD was a conspiracy against Harris and her political career. We can soundly infer that Henry believed, whether rightly or wrongly, that the MFPD had a working relationship with Harris.
  
• Henry claimed that his son-in-law wielded a significant degree of influence over law enforcement in the LA area.
  
• Henry repeatedly expressed concern for his life and the lives of his associates in the MFPD. He died mere hours after his court appearance.
  
• The charges against Kiel were dramatically reduced following Henry’s death.
  
• As California’s “top cop,” the case against Harris’ former staffer fell directly under her jurisdiction.
  
• California law enforcement failed to determine the purpose for which the MFPD was operated.

Whatever we make of the unusual conduct of the defendants, we are compelled to ask certain basic questions:

• Barring mere delusions of grandeur, why did the defendants expect to find an audience with California police?
  
• Why did law enforcement agree to meet with representatives from the MFPD, and why did they only become suspicious of the MFPD after the in-person meetings?
  
• Why did David Henry speak as though the MFPD had a working relationship with Harris, and why did he connect the prosecution of the MFPD directly to a conspiracy against Harris’ political career?
  
• What made Henry believe he and his colleagues were in direct danger not only of legal but lethal retribution from law enforcement?
  
• Why were the charges against Kiel so drastically reduced?
  
• Why was the purpose of the MFPD never determined by police detectives?
  

The questions raised by this scandal proliferate far in excess of the answers available.

The precise details of this case are likely to remain hazy, and there is no direct evidence of wrongdoing beyond the charge that the defendants had impersonated police officers. However, we are compelled to at least consider that the lack of clear details may be attributable to the well-documented relationship between law enforcement and Freemasonry. In light of these facts, there is ample circumstantial evidence pointing to the likelihood that, as California’s “top cop,” Harris was aware of – or even party to – this scandal, and possibly a broader, more systemic problem of secret fraternities and conspiracies in California’s law enforcement.