This was a REALLY bad idea!
Sometimes we see a story that just about leaves us at a loss for words. That's the case with this incident out of Dearborn, Michigan.
During this incident streamed live to Facebook last Sunday, 24-year-old James Baker and 40-year-old Brandon Vreeland entered the Jackson Police Department to file a complaint over a traffic stop.
There's just one issue: the men were wearing tactical gear, Baker's face was covered in a balaclava face mask, and he was toting a Glock 19 handgun and a semi-automatic rifle when he walked in.
The whole ordeal goes down exactly as one might expect when seeing two guys dressed like this walk in the door. See the full video below. (Warning, there is some harsh language).
As you probably already gleaned from the video, the two were arrested, although they were released later on $1,500 bonds. Mlive.com reports Vreeland was charged with obstructing police, failing to cooperate, and breaching the peace, all misdemeanors.
Baker had not yet been arraigned.
"I find this behavior totally unacceptable and irresponsible," Dearborn's Police Chief Ronald Haddad said in a statement. "This is not a 2nd Amendment issue for me. We had members of the public in our lobby that fled in fear for their safety as these men entered our building."
Both men are apparently open-carry advocates who have been critical of the police in the past. Vreeland, in particular, is well-known to area law enforcement, having been involved in multiple confrontations with police in the past.
Both men's Youtube channels show multiple videos of confrontations with police over open carry.
One of those videos included Vreeland open-carrying an AR-15 into a police station while filing a freedom of information request in 2014. Unlike this latest incident, that one ended peacefully.
As for the traffic stop that led up to the Sunday incident, Mlive.com reports Police responded to a call of two suspicious men who were called in because of the tactical gear they were wearing. Officers pulled the men over a little later at a different location.
You can see how that stop ended in a video posted to Youtube by Baker the day of the arrest. In it, Vreeland tells officers he's going to go file a complaint as soon as they are done with him.
If these guys were hoping for support from fellow gun advocates, they'll have a hard time finding it. Michigan Open Carry Inc. quickly condemned the incident, telling Dearborn police they stand with them.
"Let us be clear, Michigan Open Carry, Inc. in no way supports the actions of these individuals. It is our belief that their actions were reckless, and primarily designed to draw attention and a response," the group wrote on Facebook.
They also said there is a distinct difference between someone practicing second amendment rights and what these men did. "There is a clear difference between the everyday protection we advocate for and the attention seeking actions of these individuals. Wearing a mask, dark glasses, visible body armor, and a rifle slung across your chest instills a very specific image that cannot be ignored," the statement said.
We'll keep an eye on this crazy story and let you know what the final outcomes are when these men eventually have their court dates.
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