Connect the Dots 101

“I have to applaud the actions of the trooper — very patient, very understanding with them, very adept at de-escalation. And so I’m confident that that mindset and methodology will permeate the entire negotiation that we have with these individuals, and we’ll be able to successfully resolve this. And we look forward to doing that,” he said.

Mason said the men, who were armed with long guns and handguns and dressed in tactical gear, told the trooper they were traveling from Rhode Island to Maine for “training.”

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The incident began unfolding at about 1:30 a.m. Saturday when a state trooper stopped to assist two vehicles in the breakdown lane and encountered a group of eight to 10 men in military-style gear. They were in the process of refueling their vehicles, Mason said.

Some had long rifles, he said. “Some had sidearms, pistols. Some had a combination of both,” Mason said.

The trooper requested their “driver’s license status” and asked them to produce gun licenses. They indicated they did not have them or did not have them with them, Mason said.

The trooper called for backup, and State Police and local police responded.

Negotiators are talking to the group’s members, some of whom have remained near the vehicles, while others have gone into the woods, Mason said. The two men arrested were found in the woods, he said, and one of them was armed.

“Our negotiators are in contact with the individuals and the self-professed leader wants it very much known that their ideology is not anti-government,” Mason said. “I think the investigation that follows from this interaction will provide us more insight into what their motivation, what their ideology is.”

Mason said it was against the law to carry a gun, loaded or unloaded, on a public way in Massachusetts.

“We are hopeful that we will be able to resolve this peacefully,” Mason said. “Time is our ally in this, and we will certainly use that.”

Law enforcement has established a “hard perimeter” surrounding them, and police are negotiating with the men, State Police Colonel Christopher Mason said during the press conference.

He applauded the lone trooper’s approach to the situation, saying he had reviewed some of his body camera footage.

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2021/07/03/metro/state-police-standoff-with-armed-men-i-95-wakefield/