11 arrested in standoff involving armed men: Massachusetts Police

The Massachusetts State Police arrested 11 men from the armed group that engaged in a standoff with them at Wakefield on Saturday. 

“Two additional suspects were located in their vehicles, bringing the total number of those arrested to 11 (two initially on North Avenue and nine outside and inside the vehicles),” the state police tweeted.

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The suspects on highway were taken into custody by MSP Special Tactical Operations Team. Seven additional suspects were being transported for booking. The police conducted sweeps of their vehicles and woods. 

The I-95 southbound, that was closed for safety, was reopened. However, the police informed that northbound remains closed. 

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Police were notified about these ‘heavily armed’ men by a trooper who stopped to help two cars pulled over in the breakdown lane. The police said that it appeared the two cars were refuelling. But the trooper noticed 8-10 persons in the car, wearing military-style uniforms. They had long rifles and pistols. When asked for driver and guns’ licenses the group did not provide either.

According to local media, they told police they were headed from Rhode Island to Maine for training. When the troop called for backup, several members spread out in the woods. Two men were arrested around 6:45 AM, the police confirmed.

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“We’re committed to a negotiation with them, having a conversation. We’re going to utilize time; time is our ally in this,” State Police Colonel Christopher Mason told reporters. 

“The self-professed leader wants it very much known that their ideology is not anti-government. I think the investigation that follows from this interaction will provide us insight into what their motivation, what their ideology is, but as a quick down and dirty observation: their actions have had a significant impact on the motoring public, particularly given that this is a holiday weekend,” he added.