Discussion for article #236046
So, what was this all about?
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Seriously. What is the Masonic Police Department? Are they patrolling somewhere? Are they pulling over motorists? Do they like to hang out in Mason City, IA?
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This sounds like a completely bogus arrest in order to make Harris look bad. The case will be laughed out of court.
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Anyone willing to bet on if this would have happened if they were all WHITE MEN (like most Mason groups.)
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Wow, hard to pack so much lack of information into such a short article.
The lack of information mirrors the source article at the LA Times. Would have been nice to dig up something more before serving it here. It is not evident that the group ever attempted any policing. It is not evident what the group is doing or thinks it is doing.
Apparently, the members themselves share my puzzlement. From the Times article:
Sheriff’s Capt. Roosevelt Johnson, who heads the department’s Santa Clarita Valley station, met with members of the group and became wary after they could not provide rudimentary information about the group’s aims
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so much lack of information into such a short article
As I said, “What’s this all about?”
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If they said they were internal private security for the Masons, would that have been an issue? Every day I see passels of private security guards with uniforms, badges, weapons of various make, and even vehicles that try their hardest to look like police cruisers. I’m not aware of any of these organizations having their managers arrested.
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Also arrested were 3 white males with foreign passports
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This is totally normal behavior.
In the next town over from the one I grew up in, some local juvenile delinquent had a clapped-out old car, something like a rusty 1950 Chevy Styleline without an undented body panel on it. In crude, spray-paint handwriting, he had scrawled along the side, “Unmarked Police Car.” The local cops arrested him for impersonating an officer. Judge told the cops to stop being idiots.
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It doesn’t sound like they were out patrolling or anything, but more like role playing. I don’t think there is any law against wearing a uniform at a party or club that I know of. If these people were actually trying to do police work out in the public that would be worrisome. Were the guns legal? If not, that would be worrisome too.
Did they confiscate their Segways?
Yeah, but that same judge had been administering the same admonition since 1962.
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This is silly, except for the weapons caches, which would be legal and encouraged in Texas. Lots of children have sheriff’s or detective’s badges. And any “Knights Templar” group that does not know the difference between 1100 B.C. and 1100 A.D. cannot be taken seriously. Several times per year I am called by persons claiming to represent Fraternal Police groups, requesting donations. I just just click my tongue twice, and then say “Officer, this is the fraud call that I have been waiting for.” For some reason, the caller always hangs up. It is worth investigating whether this sort of ripoff is what this group has been involved in.
Odd.
One more bit of info from NBC:
Detectives believe the trio were “attempting to deceive individuals in
the community…for a purpose yet to be determined,” the department added.
And from KTLA (LA TV station):
Describing how it is different from other police departments, the
website stated: “We were here first! We are born into this Organization
our bloodlines go deeper then (sic) an application. This is more
then (sic) a job it is an obligation.”
And that’s kind of it. They sound more like nut jobs than any threat. I don’t even see any attempt to con people out of money, which would have been my first guess. Playing dress up and making fools out of people (as well as being dim on history) isn’t illegal as far as I know. Wait and see on those guns - that could be anything.
If it was, the Tea Party loons would be hitting GoFundMe hardcore for bail money and lawyers.
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