Enters a Police Station Armed, Masked, and Wearing Armor

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Two men were expecting to be arraigned on misdemeanor charges for carrying guns and wearing body armor into the Dearborn police station, but were instead hit with felony charges.

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Sergeant Carpenter of the Dearborn police spoke at length about why a high bond should be set.

Carpenter said that since the incident, both Baker and Vreeland have organized other individuals to carry out similar acts and called the men “professional provocateurs.”

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The defense attorney, who represented both men, argued that they are well-known activists and that a high bond would be the same as a political witch hunt.

Bond was set at $50,000, cash or surety, for Baker, and $20,000, cash or surety, for Vreeland. Both men must turn over all their weapons if they post bond and must wear a GPS tether. Another condition of bond is that they may not have contact with one another.

Both men are due back in court March 10.

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A lawyer says law enforcement in Dearborn, Mich., conducted a “political witch hunt” after his clients were arrested for carrying firearms into a police station.

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The men allege that police knew of their arrival because of a fake Facebook account that was used to track their activities. Officers reportedly had their guns drawn before Baker and Vreeland reached the precinct.

“After the discovery, it is very clear that Dearborn (police) knew that they were coming, knew who they were, and planned the ambush,” said attorney Nicholas Somberg, who represents Vreeland, according to the Detroit Free Press. “It’s not that they were reacting to a situation they thought was going to be violent. They actually knew it was not violent, knew who they were, and just wanted to teach these guys a lesson.”

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Somberg alleges that not only did his client and his associate do nothing illegal, but the police were acting in a wrongful manner. He says documents show that police created a Facebook profile with the name “Olivia” and scanned publicly posted conversations on the social media platform.

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Somberg is building an entrapment case on behalf of Vreeland, with First and Second Amendment kickers. It is important to note here that the reported actions of Vreeland and Baker did not violate Michigan law; the only possible valid legal charges against them would have to be based on intent.

The novelty of this case is the use of a police department’s social media monitoring department against gun owners engaged in seemingly legal activities. It is quite likely that the traffic stop which precipitated this incident was indeed bogus and the illegal fruit of social media monitoring.

Dearborn Police Chief Ronald Haddad is profoundly anti-gun. He has also faced a lot of scrutiny for the ‘shoot first’ culture of his department, and is facing a number of lawsuits for police shootings of Detroiters (black Detroit city residents who have strayed into Dearborn). He also has a lot of social turmoil going on within his department. The question is whether Haddad set this up this incident for its propaganda value.