BATON ROUGE – The FBI is closely monitoring the New Black Panther Party – an organization that recently formed a local chapter in the wake of the shooting death of Alton Sterling.

WBRZ was first to report about the newly-formed group when they gathered Saturday in the parking lot of the Triple S convenience store where Sterling was shot and killed by police on July 5.

“It is time for new leadership and a new organization to step forward in Baton Rouge,” Edwin Smith said.

Monday morning, ABC News reported the FBI was watching the group in the wake of a deadly ambush that left three law enforcement officers dead and three others injured on Airline Highway in Baton Rouge.

It was not immediately clear what the FBI was monitoring, specifically, as it relates to the New Black Panther Party.

Some members of the group had weapons with them Saturday but said they do not intend to get violent.

There is a New Black Panther Party in Lafayette; the only other city in the state with an organized group.

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