FBI agents descended on a building at 7501 Liberty Road on Wednesday, searching the office space where former Baltimore City Schools Commissioner Mujahid Muhammad runs his nonprofit mental health organization, KEYS Empowers. A man was seen changing the locks on the office doors the same day, and the FBI's Baltimore press office declined to provide details about the search or its target.
The search, first reported by The Baltimore Banner, comes less than four weeks after KEYS Empowers hosted a high-profile back-to-school fish fry and supply giveaway at Easterwood Park, where the organization launched its “KEYS Community Ambassadors” outreach initiative, according to EIN Presswire. Muhammad serves as executive director of KEYS Empowers and also runs a second nonprofit, KEYS Development, per the Banner's reporting. Calls to several phone numbers listed for Muhammad went unanswered Wednesday evening, and a man who answered a phone line listed for KEYS Empowers declined to answer questions, the Banner reported.
A Former School Board Commissioner With Deep Public Ties
Mayor Brandon Scott appointed Muhammad to the nine-member Baltimore City Board of School Commissioners on May 1, 2023, for a three-year term set to run through June 30, 2026, according to the City of Baltimore. Before resigning, Muhammad served on the board's Policy Committee, which reviews district policies for compliance with state and federal rules, per Baltimore City Public Schools. A spokesperson for Mayor Scott did not return the Banner's request for comment on the search.
Before his nonprofit and school board work, Muhammad worked as a clinical therapist at the University of Maryland and as a therapeutic crisis and trauma trainer at Catholic Charities, the Banner reported. KEYS Empowers describes its mission as providing social support and guidance to help young people become esteemed leaders with strong problem-solving and conflict-resolution skills, according to organizational materials cited by the Banner. The group reported revenue of over $2 million and expenses of $2.1 million in 2024, based on federal 990 forms reviewed by the outlet.
Years of Public and Philanthropic Funding
KEYS Empowers and its sister organization have drawn substantial public investment over the years. Baltimore City allocated $1,000,000 in federal American Rescue Plan Act funds to support construction of the KEYS Community Healing Village, according to the City of Baltimore Mayor's Office of Recovery Programs. The Maryland General Assembly also included capital grant appropriations specifically for the KEYS Development Healing Village project in its legislative budget authorizations, according to the Maryland Department of General Services.
More recent funding has flowed through the Family League of Baltimore, the city's designated Local Management Board, which honored KEYS Empowers at its 2022 annual meeting, per data compiled by Cause IQ.
A Clinical Operation Serving Medicaid Patients
Beyond mentorship and community events, KEYS Development is a CARF-accredited agency offering behavioral health treatment services. Organizational materials indicate KEYS Empowers was founded in 2009 and grew to provide weekly mentorship to roughly 400 children across 10 Baltimore City schools while serving more than 2,500 local families, a scale Hoodline previously detailed in a story on the group's summer youth music program at its Dream House facility in East Baltimore.
No charges have been announced, and the FBI has not said what prompted Wednesday's search or who or what it targeted. The Baltimore Banner's reporting, credited to Justin Fenton, Liz Bowie and Maya Lora, remains the primary account of the search as federal officials continue to withhold further comment.
