July 2, 2025 • 15 mins
Charles MacArthur Emanuel—known to many as Chuckie Taylor—speaks to us from United States Penitentiary Lee in Virginia, where he is serving a 97-year sentence under a conviction he has always challenged. In this raw and unfiltered conversation, he shares the story the world hasn’t heard.
Far from the one-dimensional villain of news headlines, Emanuel reveals himself as a man searching for truth, accountability, and redemption. Born in Boston to a Trinidadian mother and Liberian father, he was raised with Caribbean values of respect and “manas” long before Liberia’s brutal civil conflict. An assassination attempt on his father, President Charles Taylor, pushed him toward creating the Anti-Terrorist Unit to protect his family—a decision he says was driven by loyalty, not lust for power.
Chuckie Taylor describes himself now as “Gomai,” a man in philosophical transition who rejects the narrative of a sadistic warlord and asks the world to recognize his growth and humanity. He argues he was unfairly targeted as the only U.S. citizen convicted under federal anti-torture laws—an unprecedented case that he says was more about politics than justice.
This conversation is about complicating the easy story. It’s about giving voice to the condemned and confronting the uncomfortable question: What if this man deserves a second chance?
👉 If you believe in clemency, forgiveness, or the power of change, read his story and consider supporting his petition for a pardon:
Follow our IG & YouTube for live updates @LFTGRadio
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
This call will be recorded and subject to
monitoring at any time.
To accept this call, press 5.
To block this call, you maybegin speaking now.
Hello, hello.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
What's going on, Chuck?
Speaker 3 (00:17):
All is well.
All is well.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
Good morning, godspeed.
Elliot Carter reporting livefrom the gutter.
You are now tapped into LFTGRadio today and we're making
history On the line.
I have Charles MacArthurEmanuel, better known to the
world as Chuckie Taylor.
This is part one of a raw,uncensored look into a life few
of us could imagine.
Chuck you on the line.
Speaker 3 (00:42):
Yes, I am Ready to have this interview.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
Yes, sir, before we get into everything, where are
you calling from right now?
Speaker 3 (00:48):
I'm currently calling from United States Penitentiary
Elite in Virginia and I've beenhere currently for about seven
years, since 2017.
Seven or eight years.
Speaker 2 (01:02):
When you hear your name now, Chuckie Taylor, what
comes to mind?
The man you were or the manyou've became.
Speaker 3 (01:10):
Well, it's interesting you say that because
it's not really a name that Igenerally recognize anymore, and
it's just based upon anevolving philosophy that I have.
I feel like when you're born asa child, you given a name so
you can be, you know, the worldcan basically acknowledge who
you are, but when you come toknow yourself it is then a man
(01:32):
must choose his name, and thisis something that I deeply
believe in.
So, while this name, chuckytaylor, is constantly called by
many out there in the world,it's a form of designation.
There's an evolved man behindthese walls, and I prefer prefer
to be known as Gomai.
Gomai better reflects the stateof mind and consciousness that
I currently hold, and so when aman finds himself, I think it's
(01:55):
important for him to demand thatthe world recognize the
consciousness that he's comeinto.
So the name Chucky Taylor isone that reminds me of a past
and not my future.
Speaker 2 (02:08):
Okay, understood, you're the son of one of
Africa's most infamous leaders,but you were raised here in
America, in Orlando, florida.
What was your childhood likebefore the world put you in the
war criminal label?
Speaker 3 (02:27):
Well, interestingly enough, I think we spoke about
this briefly, but I wasoriginally born in Boston, mass,
born in St Margaret's Hospital.
I am the child of immigrants.
I'm a first-generation American.
My mom is from Trinidad andTobago, migrated from the island
, and my father is fromLiberinidad and Tobago, migrated
from the island, and my fatheris from Liberia, as many know.
(02:48):
So a typical culturally basedchildhood, raised under
Caribbean standards.
And it's important that peopleknow that, because prior to my
arrival in Africa, you know, inthe Caribbean they say manas
right.
So I was raised with a certaincultural understanding and
respect for the elders evenprior to arriving in Africa.
(03:11):
So, you know, in the Caribbeanyou're raised to respect your
elders, to say good morning topeople and to treat people with
a certain degree of respect.
That was something that Iarrived at Africa with.
Not something that I learnedwhen I got there.
Speaker 2 (03:29):
Okay, gotcha, yeah.
So you lived between two worldsyou know Boston, massachusetts
and Florida.
And then you got, you know yourlife in Africa.
When did you realize your lifewas different?
Speaker 3 (03:50):
Well, I sort of noticed that.
Just, you know, during myyounger years my mom made it her
business to always have me goto the island.
I think I must have traveled toTrinidad at least three times
before leaving to go live inLiberia.
And when I was much younger, Ithink my father brought me down
to Liberia one time I think Ican remember it's about six or
(04:10):
seven and it was the only timethat I got to meet my
grandfather, who was killedduring the war.
But yeah, that's when Irealized my life was different.
Just knowing you couldexperience that by going to
school and coming home.
I was raised in a Trinidadianhousehold, so I knew that early
on.
I knew that early on.
I didn't realize the depth ofthat change until I went to go
(04:34):
see my father after beingdisconnected from him for so
many years.
Speaker 2 (04:40):
Okay.
Did America ever truly acceptyou, or did you always feel like
you were being shaped forsomething else?
Speaker 3 (04:51):
I felt like I was being shaped for something else
again.
You know, my dad decided to goback.
My father, I should say,decided to go back to Liberia to
pursue his dream of beingpresident, say, decided to go
back to Liberia to pursue hisdream of being president.
My mom remarried and you know,my stepdad, you know, did a
(05:15):
pretty good job.
I credit him for reallyimmersing me in West Indian
culture and from there I kind ofgot a sense of me being
different.
You know, I was born under somedifficult circumstances.
I had an operation at a youngage and it wasn't guaranteed
that I would have survived thatsurgery.
(05:36):
So I guess from the earlybeginnings, yeah, it was kind of
written for my trajectory inlife to be, you know, vastly
different, unique, in a senseUnderstood.
Speaker 2 (05:50):
Was there ever a moment you tried to leave that
legacy behind?
Speaker 3 (05:59):
From my childhood.
No, I mean, you know you'retrying to sort of lean into that
difference.
I will say that I've alwaysbeen somebody you know prepared
and willing to.
Speaker 1 (06:14):
This call is from a federal prison.
Speaker 3 (06:16):
I left Liberia, I left it all behind.
You know there was no desire inme to sort of pursue some
legacy or pursue somecontinuation of President
Taylor's agenda.
In fact I moved on to Trinidad.
My daughter was born, I made atransition into trying to pursue
(06:38):
other business opportunitieswhich really led me here to the
States.
And you know, before thisnightmare occurred I was
literally arrested off the plane.
But I came with an agenda tosort of, you know, pursue
entrepreneurship.
My time in Liberia was mainlydesigned to support President
Taylor.
At the time I had no desire orinterest to pursue any form of
(07:01):
politics in Africa okay, let'stalk about the, the unit they
say you led in Liberia, theanti-terrorist unit.
Speaker 2 (07:14):
Who trained you?
What was your purpose?
Protection or control?
Speaker 3 (07:21):
Okay, well, brief history.
So prior to President Taylorwinning the election, there was
an assassination attempt and itshook the family to the core,
especially me.
I was in Abidjan at the timeand I can remember being at
Grace Miner's house a very goodfamily friend and we all got the
(07:43):
news via BBC.
Several people got killed atthat time.
It was an explosive deviceplaced in the ceiling of the
office hallway where, at thattime, councilman Taylor was
going to or walking through, andso a lot of people don't know
(08:04):
that my family, like many others, paid the ultimate sacrifice
for this war.
Several members of my family,men in my family, got killed
supporting President Taylor andI considered it to be a duty to
step up and to protect my familyfamily.
So ATU was intended to be aprotection-based force.
Atu started out under aninitial program.
(08:26):
There were some mercenariesbrought in.
It was a program that I helpedto launch.
I was responsible for thepayment of these individuals and
that program blossomed intomuch of what the world got to
find out about later.
But I will say this it hadundergone several iterations and
(08:46):
transformations at the time andthere's a real interesting
Washington Post articlesomewhere around 97 or 98.
When the unit was first launched, people were very curious.
They thought that Mr Taylor hadbrought in foreign troops from
Burkina Faso and Gambia, wherebythese were some of the very
(09:08):
MPFL men that had undergone somevery intense training and had
exhibited great qualities ofdiscipline and operational
capacity.
And so the unit started out thatway.
But there were some verydifficult political decisions, I
believe President Taylor had tomake in reference to how the
(09:30):
Army was going to be trained interms of pensions that had to be
paid, and he made the decisionto rapidly expand the unit.
And he made the decision torapidly expand the unit.
It went against pretty much thewishes or the advice that was
being given to us, as well ashelp to dampen the quality and
(09:59):
the basis of discipline that wasbeing instilled in his core
group of individuals at the time.
So it's a deep story.
It's not one.
I did have some degree ofinfluence in maintaining
informational space related tothe unit, but there was a time
that that was removed and givento others.
And giving to others and basedupon those decisions made, you
(10:25):
know, led to some of theindiscipline and the infractions
and different things that tookplace with those guys.
Speaker 2 (10:29):
Okay, it says here you were feared, even hated by
some.
Was that power addictive?
Speaker 3 (10:41):
You know the interesting part about it is Was
that power addictive?
You know the interesting partabout it is I've always been a.
Speaker 1 (10:51):
How would I describe it?
This call is from a federalprison.
Speaker 3 (10:55):
I'm more of an introspective type of individual
, so I didn't relish in whatsome people call power.
And besides coming out of arevolution or a civil war and
your father becoming president,there was a lot to deal with.
I wouldn't say power was one ofthem.
(11:16):
I wouldn't say power was one ofthem.
Speaker 2 (11:21):
What do you mean by that?
So what was there to deal with?
Speaker 3 (11:29):
What do you say was the biggest thing to deal with
the internal?
There was a lot of internalcompetition.
There were those who sought whenyou're Let me put it this way
when you're dealing with anauthoritarian or a leader who is
considered to be a dictator, alot of decisions are centralized
(11:51):
, so that attention is beingvied for by many.
So power is based upon thefavor that can be curried or the
closeness in relation to thatleader.
It wasn't something that I wasinterested in.
You know, we had a lot ofinternal issues between father
and son.
It wasn't something thatimpacted that relationship to
(12:15):
power.
Let's put it that way I wasmore under the microscope than
many.
There were a lot of people whocould have gotten away with a
lot more than me because of myunwillingness to sort of attach
myself to the clusters of poweror groups vying for that power
around the leader at that time,which was my, my father.
(12:38):
So, yeah, in fact I wasscrutinized a lot more.
So what people don't realize isthat, uh, I had to answer for a
lot more behind the scenes,which means I had to work even
harder.
I had to do more of what wasright than what was wrong
because of my unwillingness tobrown nose and to curry favor
(12:58):
and to buck up to people whowere close to my dad.
African society is a littledifferent, so normally elders
have their peer groups, so thosepeople my father had confidence
in.
There was a natural expectationfor me to have relationships
with them and I generally didn'ttrust a lot of people,
(13:22):
relationships with them, and Igenerally didn't trust a lot of
people and me being wanting tobe protective over my family and
my father.
Because, you have to understand, if President Taylor was killed
at any time, there would be nomistake that any of his children
or relatives would have beenkilled along with him.
So I was generally distrustingof many.
So I was generally distrustingof many and that played a big
role.
So in that regard, this whole,you know me being this
(13:46):
individual who could do any andeverything at any time is a real
fallacy.
Speaker 2 (13:55):
Understood.
Okay, let's fast forward alittle bit.
You are the first and only UScitizen convicted under federal
anti-torture laws.
How do you feel about that?
Speaker 3 (14:06):
People always ask about this testimony in relation
to the victims.
I believe that theseindividuals could have suffered
some abuse at some time duringthat 12-year conflict.
It is possible that ATU men inthe lower ranks could have
(14:32):
somehow been responsible.
But to directly connect me toarrests at checkpoints in deep
areas of Liberia's countryside,it's stretching it.
But before this phone cuts off,I'd like to build on this a
little bit more and I will becalling back in an hour.
(14:53):
I appreciate your time and Iappreciate this opportunity.
Speaker 2 (14:57):
Absolutely.
This call will be recorded and subject to
monitoring at any time.
To accept this call, press 5.
To block this call, you maybegin speaking now.
Hello, hello.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
What's going on, Chuck?
Speaker 3 (00:17):
All is well.
All is well.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
Good morning, godspeed.
Elliot Carter reporting livefrom the gutter.
You are now tapped into LFTGRadio today and we're making
history On the line.
I have Charles MacArthurEmanuel, better known to the
world as Chuckie Taylor.
This is part one of a raw,uncensored look into a life few
of us could imagine.
Chuck you on the line.
Speaker 3 (00:42):
Yes, I am Ready to have this interview.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
Yes, sir, before we get into everything, where are
you calling from right now?
Speaker 3 (00:48):
I'm currently calling from United States Penitentiary
Elite in Virginia and I've beenhere currently for about seven
years, since 2017.
Seven or eight years.
Speaker 2 (01:02):
When you hear your name now, Chuckie Taylor, what
comes to mind?
The man you were or the manyou've became.
Speaker 3 (01:10):
Well, it's interesting you say that because
it's not really a name that Igenerally recognize anymore, and
it's just based upon anevolving philosophy that I have.
I feel like when you're born asa child, you given a name so
you can be, you know, the worldcan basically acknowledge who
you are, but when you come toknow yourself it is then a man
(01:32):
must choose his name, and thisis something that I deeply
believe in.
So, while this name, chuckytaylor, is constantly called by
many out there in the world,it's a form of designation.
There's an evolved man behindthese walls, and I prefer prefer
to be known as Gomai.
Gomai better reflects the stateof mind and consciousness that
I currently hold, and so when aman finds himself, I think it's
(01:55):
important for him to demand thatthe world recognize the
consciousness that he's comeinto.
So the name Chucky Taylor isone that reminds me of a past
and not my future.
Speaker 2 (02:08):
Okay, understood, you're the son of one of
Africa's most infamous leaders,but you were raised here in
America, in Orlando, florida.
What was your childhood likebefore the world put you in the
war criminal label?
Speaker 3 (02:27):
Well, interestingly enough, I think we spoke about
this briefly, but I wasoriginally born in Boston, mass,
born in St Margaret's Hospital.
I am the child of immigrants.
I'm a first-generation American.
My mom is from Trinidad andTobago, migrated from the island
, and my father is fromLiberinidad and Tobago, migrated
from the island, and my fatheris from Liberia, as many know.
(02:48):
So a typical culturally basedchildhood, raised under
Caribbean standards.
And it's important that peopleknow that, because prior to my
arrival in Africa, you know, inthe Caribbean they say manas
right.
So I was raised with a certaincultural understanding and
respect for the elders evenprior to arriving in Africa.
(03:11):
So, you know, in the Caribbeanyou're raised to respect your
elders, to say good morning topeople and to treat people with
a certain degree of respect.
That was something that Iarrived at Africa with.
Not something that I learnedwhen I got there.
Speaker 2 (03:29):
Okay, gotcha, yeah.
So you lived between two worldsyou know Boston, massachusetts
and Florida.
And then you got, you know yourlife in Africa.
When did you realize your lifewas different?
Speaker 3 (03:50):
Well, I sort of noticed that.
Just, you know, during myyounger years my mom made it her
business to always have me goto the island.
I think I must have traveled toTrinidad at least three times
before leaving to go live inLiberia.
And when I was much younger, Ithink my father brought me down
to Liberia one time I think Ican remember it's about six or
(04:10):
seven and it was the only timethat I got to meet my
grandfather, who was killedduring the war.
But yeah, that's when Irealized my life was different.
Just knowing you couldexperience that by going to
school and coming home.
I was raised in a Trinidadianhousehold, so I knew that early
on.
I knew that early on.
I didn't realize the depth ofthat change until I went to go
(04:34):
see my father after beingdisconnected from him for so
many years.
Speaker 2 (04:40):
Okay.
Did America ever truly acceptyou, or did you always feel like
you were being shaped forsomething else?
Speaker 3 (04:51):
I felt like I was being shaped for something else
again.
You know, my dad decided to goback.
My father, I should say,decided to go back to Liberia to
pursue his dream of beingpresident, say, decided to go
back to Liberia to pursue hisdream of being president.
My mom remarried and you know,my stepdad, you know, did a
(05:15):
pretty good job.
I credit him for reallyimmersing me in West Indian
culture and from there I kind ofgot a sense of me being
different.
You know, I was born under somedifficult circumstances.
I had an operation at a youngage and it wasn't guaranteed
that I would have survived thatsurgery.
(05:36):
So I guess from the earlybeginnings, yeah, it was kind of
written for my trajectory inlife to be, you know, vastly
different, unique, in a senseUnderstood.
Speaker 2 (05:50):
Was there ever a moment you tried to leave that
legacy behind?
Speaker 3 (05:59):
From my childhood.
No, I mean, you know you'retrying to sort of lean into that
difference.
I will say that I've alwaysbeen somebody you know prepared
and willing to.
Speaker 1 (06:14):
This call is from a federal prison.
Speaker 3 (06:16):
I left Liberia, I left it all behind.
You know there was no desire inme to sort of pursue some
legacy or pursue somecontinuation of President
Taylor's agenda.
In fact I moved on to Trinidad.
My daughter was born, I made atransition into trying to pursue
(06:38):
other business opportunitieswhich really led me here to the
States.
And you know, before thisnightmare occurred I was
literally arrested off the plane.
But I came with an agenda tosort of, you know, pursue
entrepreneurship.
My time in Liberia was mainlydesigned to support President
Taylor.
At the time I had no desire orinterest to pursue any form of
(07:01):
politics in Africa okay, let'stalk about the, the unit they
say you led in Liberia, theanti-terrorist unit.
Speaker 2 (07:14):
Who trained you?
What was your purpose?
Protection or control?
Speaker 3 (07:21):
Okay, well, brief history.
So prior to President Taylorwinning the election, there was
an assassination attempt and itshook the family to the core,
especially me.
I was in Abidjan at the timeand I can remember being at
Grace Miner's house a very goodfamily friend and we all got the
(07:43):
news via BBC.
Several people got killed atthat time.
It was an explosive deviceplaced in the ceiling of the
office hallway where, at thattime, councilman Taylor was
going to or walking through, andso a lot of people don't know
(08:04):
that my family, like many others, paid the ultimate sacrifice
for this war.
Several members of my family,men in my family, got killed
supporting President Taylor andI considered it to be a duty to
step up and to protect my familyfamily.
So ATU was intended to be aprotection-based force.
Atu started out under aninitial program.
(08:26):
There were some mercenariesbrought in.
It was a program that I helpedto launch.
I was responsible for thepayment of these individuals and
that program blossomed intomuch of what the world got to
find out about later.
But I will say this it hadundergone several iterations and
(08:46):
transformations at the time andthere's a real interesting
Washington Post articlesomewhere around 97 or 98.
When the unit was first launched, people were very curious.
They thought that Mr Taylor hadbrought in foreign troops from
Burkina Faso and Gambia, wherebythese were some of the very
(09:08):
MPFL men that had undergone somevery intense training and had
exhibited great qualities ofdiscipline and operational
capacity.
And so the unit started out thatway.
But there were some verydifficult political decisions, I
believe President Taylor had tomake in reference to how the
(09:30):
Army was going to be trained interms of pensions that had to be
paid, and he made the decisionto rapidly expand the unit.
And he made the decision torapidly expand the unit.
It went against pretty much thewishes or the advice that was
being given to us, as well ashelp to dampen the quality and
(09:59):
the basis of discipline that wasbeing instilled in his core
group of individuals at the time.
So it's a deep story.
It's not one.
I did have some degree ofinfluence in maintaining
informational space related tothe unit, but there was a time
that that was removed and givento others.
And giving to others and basedupon those decisions made, you
(10:25):
know, led to some of theindiscipline and the infractions
and different things that tookplace with those guys.
Speaker 2 (10:29):
Okay, it says here you were feared, even hated by
some.
Was that power addictive?
Speaker 3 (10:41):
You know the interesting part about it is Was
that power addictive?
You know the interesting partabout it is I've always been a.
Speaker 1 (10:51):
How would I describe it?
This call is from a federalprison.
Speaker 3 (10:55):
I'm more of an introspective type of individual
, so I didn't relish in whatsome people call power.
And besides coming out of arevolution or a civil war and
your father becoming president,there was a lot to deal with.
I wouldn't say power was one ofthem.
(11:16):
I wouldn't say power was one ofthem.
Speaker 2 (11:21):
What do you mean by that?
So what was there to deal with?
Speaker 3 (11:29):
What do you say was the biggest thing to deal with
the internal?
There was a lot of internalcompetition.
There were those who sought whenyou're Let me put it this way
when you're dealing with anauthoritarian or a leader who is
considered to be a dictator, alot of decisions are centralized
(11:51):
, so that attention is beingvied for by many.
So power is based upon thefavor that can be curried or the
closeness in relation to thatleader.
It wasn't something that I wasinterested in.
You know, we had a lot ofinternal issues between father
and son.
It wasn't something thatimpacted that relationship to
(12:15):
power.
Let's put it that way I wasmore under the microscope than
many.
There were a lot of people whocould have gotten away with a
lot more than me because of myunwillingness to sort of attach
myself to the clusters of poweror groups vying for that power
around the leader at that time,which was my, my father.
(12:38):
So, yeah, in fact I wasscrutinized a lot more.
So what people don't realize isthat, uh, I had to answer for a
lot more behind the scenes,which means I had to work even
harder.
I had to do more of what wasright than what was wrong
because of my unwillingness tobrown nose and to curry favor
(12:58):
and to buck up to people whowere close to my dad.
African society is a littledifferent, so normally elders
have their peer groups, so thosepeople my father had confidence
in.
There was a natural expectationfor me to have relationships
with them and I generally didn'ttrust a lot of people,
(13:22):
relationships with them, and Igenerally didn't trust a lot of
people and me being wanting tobe protective over my family and
my father.
Because, you have to understand, if President Taylor was killed
at any time, there would be nomistake that any of his children
or relatives would have beenkilled along with him.
So I was generally distrustingof many.
So I was generally distrustingof many and that played a big
role.
So in that regard, this whole,you know me being this
(13:46):
individual who could do any andeverything at any time is a real
fallacy.
Speaker 2 (13:55):
Understood.
Okay, let's fast forward alittle bit.
You are the first and only UScitizen convicted under federal
anti-torture laws.
How do you feel about that?
Speaker 3 (14:06):
People always ask about this testimony in relation
to the victims.
I believe that theseindividuals could have suffered
some abuse at some time duringthat 12-year conflict.
It is possible that ATU men inthe lower ranks could have
(14:32):
somehow been responsible.
But to directly connect me toarrests at checkpoints in deep
areas of Liberia's countryside,it's stretching it.
But before this phone cuts off,I'd like to build on this a
little bit more and I will becalling back in an hour.
(14:53):
I appreciate your time and Iappreciate this opportunity.
Speaker 2 (14:57):
Absolutely.
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