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Deep State Witch

(11,338 posts)
Fri Oct 4, 2024, 02:46 PM Oct 4

Report of Armed Men Patrolling In NC

This was from a friend in Black Mountain, NC. Names have been removed.

Angry and concerned today.
Yesterday there were two armed fake police officers controlling entry to my neighborhood.
They were wearing shirts that identified them as members of Men in Black, Disaster Relief.
The one who stopped me and asked me where I was going gave me a gaslight answer when I asked him what authority he had; had they been brought in by our Sheriff, by FEMA, by?
He babbled about coming in through Jacksonville, blah blah blah, then said they were police officers from Arkansas.
Last night, after dark, there were two of them walking on my street, wearing vests, trying to look official. They were wearing handguns and carrying long rifles of the AR variety.
My husband was on the porch putting up a clothes line, using a bright light so he could see. They stopped and from the street demanded to know if we had power.
I had to drive to a place with phone service to place a call to the Sheriff’s Department non-emergency number. I reported the earlier contact and the two armed men walking in my neighborhood. A deputy was supposed to come to the house to talk with me and my husband.
A deputy did try to call 3 times after I got home but we have no phone service at the house.
They never showed up in response to a call about armed individuals.
This morning my husband talked to the Homeland Security officer at Grovemont Park who told him that the MIB are not supposed to be here and they have no authority whatsoever over anyone or anything.
TBH, the entire situation reeks.
Yes, we had looters. Yes, there are reports of break-ins happening. Yes, we were happy when we had our own Sheriff’s deputies stationed at the end of the street.
But this…this is not acceptable.
If you encounter any of these Men in Black, please report them to the Sheriff’s Department or Homeland Security. Also please tell them to piss off and go home. They are violating people’s 4th Amendment rights!!

70 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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Report of Armed Men Patrolling In NC (Original Post) Deep State Witch Oct 4 OP
Scary stuff, they obviously have no problem with assuming authority they don't have a right to. Think. Again. Oct 4 #1
You know where the police did show up, in a force of about 15 cruisers/vans? Coexist Oct 4 #2
Well, it's not great that somebody stole a lot of weapons. yardwork Oct 5 #58
Aren't they trespassing? Paseo Mundial Oct 4 #3
Not Me Deep State Witch Oct 5 #62
Important malaise Oct 4 #4
Place is going Walking Dead fast Prairie Gates Oct 4 #5
No, it's not and that's very insensitive. Because we're littlemissmartypants Oct 4 #35
My son is in Asheville and he says everyone is pulling together. yardwork Oct 5 #56
Appreciate your report. Stay safe, stay well... Hekate Oct 4 #6
Did a search for Men in Black, Disaster Relief soandso Oct 4 #7
More on that guy TommyT139 Oct 4 #12
It would not surprise me soandso Oct 4 #15
Looks like "retired" and "former" TommyT139 Oct 4 #17
I have no clue soandso Oct 4 #21
Either that, or... Moosepoop Oct 4 #13
I would not assume they are cosplaying or planning a career. I would assume they are looking for immigrants or Martin68 Oct 5 #48
What is a "certified law enforcement officer?" yardwork Oct 5 #55
Thanks! Deep State Witch Oct 5 #63
K & R for exposure. SunSeeker Oct 4 #8
Take their pictures and file charges with the .. Botany Oct 4 #9
Their response TommyT139 Oct 4 #14
They can get a shovel, a saw, log chains, and Botany Oct 4 #18
My first thought..be a man and pick up a shovel to help Deuxcents Oct 4 #39
or a woman. Thousands of wheel barrel loads need to be moved, a good clean path to Botany Oct 4 #40
I went through Hugo with my Mother and Step-Father. Yes there was some looting and some break ins but then came Cheezoholic Oct 4 #10
It wasn't hurricanes which first started markodochartaigh Oct 5 #49
Yes! soandso Oct 5 #66
unfortunately azureblue Oct 4 #11
Do you live in WNC? littlemissmartypants Oct 4 #20
Arkansas ain't local man and the area described isn't what you suggest. Re-read the post, it's a neighborhood n/t Cheezoholic Oct 4 #22
They were not invited in by the residents or cops. They invaded. . . . . nt Bernardo de La Paz Oct 4 #26
Nobody asked for their "help". Elessar Zappa Oct 4 #31
I haven't heard that that is happening, no. yardwork Oct 5 #60
Morons with guns, deciding to answer the call to help, Warpy Oct 4 #16
They sound kind of like looters to me! Casing out the place... Jack Valentino Oct 4 #19
Black Mountain has a curfew in place. LisaM Oct 4 #23
And yet TommyT139 Oct 4 #34
Yes, I know, but... LisaM Oct 4 #38
For sure TommyT139 Oct 4 #43
I don't want to name my friend who posted this Deep State Witch Oct 5 #65
Well for one thing... LisaM Oct 5 #67
Maybe I got Confused Deep State Witch Oct 6 #69
Sounds like Kyle Rittenhouse wannabes AmBlue Oct 4 #24
Indeed. Dangerous. orthoclad Oct 5 #61
EXACTLY. Jack Valentino Oct 5 #64
They are practicing for when they can start firing in the civil war they desire to "Reclaim America". . . . nt Bernardo de La Paz Oct 4 #25
RW PAC-funded blackshirts peppertree Oct 4 #27
I outsmarted them. COL Mustard Oct 4 #29
Hear, hear peppertree Oct 4 #30
This is what we will all get if Trump gets in again. hadEnuf Oct 4 #41
And they're counting on 2/3 of voters simply not believing "it could happen here" peppertree Oct 4 #42
These thugs (like Kyle Rittenhouse) think that COL Mustard Oct 4 #28
This message was self-deleted by its author Chin music Oct 4 #32
First, take them a bottle of water and thank them for helping out misanthrope Oct 4 #44
This message was self-deleted by its author Island Blue Oct 4 #33
I'll assume they are white BWdem4life Oct 4 #36
Whose authority are they under? What right do they have to be there? Initech Oct 4 #37
Vigilantes. Nothing good can come of it...nt Wounded Bear Oct 4 #45
These men are looking for opportunities to use the assault weapons they've invested in. dlk Oct 5 #46
Keep reporting these assholes every chance you get to everyone you can think of. Martin68 Oct 5 #47
Sounds to me like some soldier-wannabe MAGAts. 4lbs Oct 5 #50
Kyle Rittenhouse/Zimmerman type jerkoffs ! oasis Oct 5 #57
Post removed Post removed Oct 5 #51
That's terrible. Adding a touch more fright to the entire situation. Stay safe. Vinca Oct 5 #52
Every major disaster draws opportunists and charlatans in droves pfitz59 Oct 5 #53
I googled this brakester Oct 5 #54
Men In Black? Bayard Oct 5 #59
This is scary AF Iris Oct 5 #68
Update: They're Gone Deep State Witch Oct 9 #70

Think. Again.

(18,929 posts)
1. Scary stuff, they obviously have no problem with assuming authority they don't have a right to.
Fri Oct 4, 2024, 02:51 PM
Oct 4

That doesn't bode well for the election chaos they've been working on.

Coexist

(26,202 posts)
2. You know where the police did show up, in a force of about 15 cruisers/vans?
Fri Oct 4, 2024, 02:54 PM
Oct 4

at the gun store that was broken into about 1/2 mile from my home. You'd have thought there was a hostage situation. Very interesting.

(I'm in Asheville)

Paseo Mundial

(23 posts)
3. Aren't they trespassing?
Fri Oct 4, 2024, 03:45 PM
Oct 4

Do you have an HOA? If so, bylaws likely prohibit those men from loitering. This is deeply disturbing on many levels. and I suspect that are attempting to “spread goodwill” to legitimize their common law militia. Total BS. Do we need to send “No trespassing” signs to distribute in WNC? My husband is heading there next weekend, and I will send!

littlemissmartypants

(25,839 posts)
35. No, it's not and that's very insensitive. Because we're
Fri Oct 4, 2024, 06:03 PM
Oct 4

Still finding out about deaths, recovering bodies.

Some people may be permanently lost, buried in mud and rock flows in the rivers, lakes and on the mountains.

Imagine never hearing from a loved one again.



yardwork

(64,686 posts)
56. My son is in Asheville and he says everyone is pulling together.
Sat Oct 5, 2024, 02:54 PM
Oct 5

These are outsiders causing trouble.

 

soandso

(1,631 posts)
7. Did a search for Men in Black, Disaster Relief
Fri Oct 4, 2024, 04:27 PM
Oct 4

And only found this:

Men In Black Disaster Response Solutions was started by Troy Burleson of Arkansas; they recently helped in the midst of Hurricane Ida.

Glen Redding of Men In Black Disaster Response Solutions appeared on KHOZ’s Around The Table on Thursday to talk about the organization. He discussed some previous happenings when helping in the midst of disaster. They provide food, security and anything else needed during disaster. The organization also aids people on dialysis by making sure they have access to what they need in times of disaster. Everyone on the team is either current, retired or reserve police officers. “We’re on a mission to make people’s lives better,” Redding said.

The full interview with Redding is on Around The Table’s Facebook Page.

https://www.branson4u.com/news/local-news/men-in-black-disaster-solutions-still-on-mission/

Looked up Troy Burleson and found this:

I am a certified law-enforcement officer, Chief of Police with the City of Omaha and with Boone County sheriffs office in Boone county Arkansas.

More: https://www.linkedin.com/in/troy-burleson-3baa7a25

And a FB page with nothing on it:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Men%20In%20Black%20Disaster%20Response%20Solutions/172649286831571/

If they ASKED the residents if they can help them in any way, that would be okay, but they have no jurisdiction to be doing this, otherwise. My guess is they want to get in the security and disaster relief contracting business (big money) so are cosplaying.

TommyT139

(748 posts)
12. More on that guy
Fri Oct 4, 2024, 04:47 PM
Oct 4
https://www.linkedin.com/in/troy-burleson-3baa7a25

https://www.bahardtarget.net/our-instructors

There should be a way to find out if taxpayer dollars were used to pay or supply these jerkwads.

Some militia groups are taking advantage of disasters to "volunteer," burnish their reputations, and make connections with legitimate law enforcement.

A very Kyle Rittenhouse line of thinking - "protecting" where not invited.
 

soandso

(1,631 posts)
15. It would not surprise me
Fri Oct 4, 2024, 04:57 PM
Oct 4

if this is how some contractors get their start. Financial motivation/ambition + wanna be whatever (though are out of state LE, I guess).

TommyT139

(748 posts)
17. Looks like "retired" and "former"
Fri Oct 4, 2024, 05:03 PM
Oct 4

My guess is there are more of these groups than anyone knows.

 

soandso

(1,631 posts)
21. I have no clue
Fri Oct 4, 2024, 05:08 PM
Oct 4

If they're helpful and wanted, that's fine, but parading around and harassing people then fuck no.

Moosepoop

(2,006 posts)
13. Either that, or...
Fri Oct 4, 2024, 04:47 PM
Oct 4

They're random randos claiming to be with the MIB outfit as cover when challenged. Not a good situation either way.

Martin68

(24,701 posts)
48. I would not assume they are cosplaying or planning a career. I would assume they are looking for immigrants or
Sat Oct 5, 2024, 11:05 AM
Oct 5

minorities to shoot, with the excuse that they were suspected of looting.

yardwork

(64,686 posts)
55. What is a "certified law enforcement officer?"
Sat Oct 5, 2024, 02:53 PM
Oct 5

You're either a sworn officer or you're not. Sounds like these are people who used to be cops but aren't anymore, or want to be cops and aren't.

Not good that they're wandering around a disaster zone. That just makes the search and rescue and relief efforts harder.

Botany

(72,641 posts)
9. Take their pictures and file charges with the ..
Fri Oct 4, 2024, 04:43 PM
Oct 4

... County D.A. and Law Enforcement including
the State Police and the State A.G.'s office. A retired cop from Arkansas has zero authority in
N. Carolina to do what you say they're doing.

TommyT139

(748 posts)
14. Their response
Fri Oct 4, 2024, 04:53 PM
Oct 4

Their response to a camera held by a resident should tell a lot.

And if a resident is nervous about taking a pic? Then they're effectively terrorists.

Botany

(72,641 posts)
18. They can get a shovel, a saw, log chains, and
Fri Oct 4, 2024, 05:03 PM
Oct 4

or a hard rake and start working to open
up the roads and clean up somebody's
home and or properties. If they have law
enforcement backgrounds they MIGHT be
of help in getting traffic going.

Botany

(72,641 posts)
40. or a woman. Thousands of wheel barrel loads need to be moved, a good clean path to
Fri Oct 4, 2024, 07:19 PM
Oct 4

… a front door, if people are still living in a structure support beams will be needed, and
a fire pit with a grill to make food and coffee. If these shits want to protect people and
properties and there has been problems then they can plant their asses on a front porch.

Btw I have done a clean up after a tornado in north central KY. After that I told myself never
complain about anything again. The things that make us Americans are much stronger than
the manufactured that has been pushed to keep us apart.

Btw. J.D. Guy-Liner would not last an hour if given the job of clearing the log jams under
a bridge over a creek that most of the time is 6 inches deep and Donny would be gone after
one half load of crushed stone in a wheel barrel.




Cheezoholic

(2,642 posts)
10. I went through Hugo with my Mother and Step-Father. Yes there was some looting and some break ins but then came
Fri Oct 4, 2024, 04:43 PM
Oct 4

The roofers!! I mean every 2 bit roofer from 20 states showed up. Not "roofing contractors". These guys were the kind of roofers who had a rusty old smoke spewing pickup truck with 6 guys in the back with hammers and coolers full of beer. Not lying. By the thousands.

That was 1989. Now your friends down there are dealing with maybe those same guys or their kids but the same type only they aren't coming with hammers and beer, they're coming with weapons and beer (trust me, wherever they are staging from there's a cooler full of beer)!!

I'd approach them and throw a freakin' hammer in their hand and tell them to quit playing army and help.

markodochartaigh

(2,221 posts)
49. It wasn't hurricanes which first started
Sat Oct 5, 2024, 11:58 AM
Oct 5

insurance companies leaving Florida. It was the roofing scams. Apparently around 70% of the home insurance fraud in the US was in Florida.


https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/roofing-scams-florida-property-insurance-hurricane-rcna29649

azureblue

(2,321 posts)
11. unfortunately
Fri Oct 4, 2024, 04:46 PM
Oct 4

It's kind of wild west in some areas there. No way for the cops to respond quick enough to stop looters, so locals are organizing their own defense teams.. People forget the area is mountains, and houses can be spread far apart and roads impassable. With no phones, much less electricity, it's every man for himself.

Cheezoholic

(2,642 posts)
22. Arkansas ain't local man and the area described isn't what you suggest. Re-read the post, it's a neighborhood n/t
Fri Oct 4, 2024, 05:09 PM
Oct 4

yardwork

(64,686 posts)
60. I haven't heard that that is happening, no.
Sat Oct 5, 2024, 03:00 PM
Oct 5

What I've heard from people who are actually living in affected areas is that people are helping one another out.

Nobody needs wandering groups of vigilantes.

Warpy

(113,131 posts)
16. Morons with guns, deciding to answer the call to help,
Fri Oct 4, 2024, 05:00 PM
Oct 4

as long as "helping" involves using their big, scary looking GUNS.

These knuckleheads will just never realize they're the problem, not the solution.

TommyT139

(748 posts)
34. And yet
Fri Oct 4, 2024, 05:59 PM
Oct 4

And yet the narrator named an obscure group from outside the state that does exist and which claims to have done this work before, so....

LisaM

(28,735 posts)
38. Yes, I know, but...
Fri Oct 4, 2024, 06:48 PM
Oct 4

Too often people take a story from one event and piggyback it onto another. I know that I am probably overly suspicious but I don't always believe second-hand anonymous accounts. Things are bad enough in those areas. You can't even walk around in Black Mountain at night.

TommyT139

(748 posts)
43. For sure
Fri Oct 4, 2024, 07:54 PM
Oct 4

I was just using a little exegetical skill that would seem to tip things towards the story being true.

LisaM

(28,735 posts)
67. Well for one thing...
Sat Oct 5, 2024, 10:25 PM
Oct 5

The park they mentioned is in Swannanoa, not Black Mountain. Swannanoa was hit really hard.

AmBlue

(3,444 posts)
24. Sounds like Kyle Rittenhouse wannabes
Fri Oct 4, 2024, 05:13 PM
Oct 4

...looking for an excuse to *play* with their pew-pews. Be careful. I'd call the sheriff again in the morning!!

Bernardo de La Paz

(51,200 posts)
25. They are practicing for when they can start firing in the civil war they desire to "Reclaim America". . . . nt
Fri Oct 4, 2024, 05:35 PM
Oct 4

peppertree

(22,850 posts)
27. RW PAC-funded blackshirts
Fri Oct 4, 2024, 05:37 PM
Oct 4

Sounds like the GOPee is trying to get the public in swing states accustomed to seeing them on Election Day.

And if (God forbid) Cheeto takes office, you'll likely see them in many other places nationwide.

peppertree

(22,850 posts)
30. Hear, hear
Fri Oct 4, 2024, 05:40 PM
Oct 4

Though, again, I suspect that if Needy Amin takes office - they'll become a recurring sight across the country.

hadEnuf

(2,777 posts)
41. This is what we will all get if Trump gets in again.
Fri Oct 4, 2024, 07:21 PM
Oct 4

Self-appointed Gruppenfuhrers for your neighborhood. As long as they are MAGATs it will be okay with law enforcement, as they will have.already been purged and empowered by Trump.

peppertree

(22,850 posts)
42. And they're counting on 2/3 of voters simply not believing "it could happen here"
Fri Oct 4, 2024, 07:45 PM
Oct 4

The other 1/3, meanwhile, are very much looking forward to the prospect.

COL Mustard

(6,963 posts)
28. These thugs (like Kyle Rittenhouse) think that
Fri Oct 4, 2024, 05:38 PM
Oct 4

Their 2nd Amendment rights trump anyone else's 4th Amendment rights.

(I hope you see what I did there.)

Response to Deep State Witch (Original post)

misanthrope

(8,292 posts)
44. First, take them a bottle of water and thank them for helping out
Fri Oct 4, 2024, 09:29 PM
Oct 4

Then ask if you can have a photo "to show the world what real men look like." They'll likely let you snap away.

Response to Deep State Witch (Original post)

Initech

(102,467 posts)
37. Whose authority are they under? What right do they have to be there?
Fri Oct 4, 2024, 06:39 PM
Oct 4

None and zero. And Sean Hannity isn't authority, neither is Alex Jones. Neither is pretend authority. GTFO and stay out.

dlk

(12,466 posts)
46. These men are looking for opportunities to use the assault weapons they've invested in.
Sat Oct 5, 2024, 10:27 AM
Oct 5

This isn’t surprising.
.

Martin68

(24,701 posts)
47. Keep reporting these assholes every chance you get to everyone you can think of.
Sat Oct 5, 2024, 11:02 AM
Oct 5

Sooner or later they are going to kill someone and their actions need to be documented. Take photos and video of them if you dare. Or do it secretly.

4lbs

(7,395 posts)
50. Sounds to me like some soldier-wannabe MAGAts.
Sat Oct 5, 2024, 01:04 PM
Oct 5

I guess their Call of Duty game was canceled due to weather, so they had to do something with their cosplay outfits.

Response to Deep State Witch (Original post)

pfitz59

(10,975 posts)
53. Every major disaster draws opportunists and charlatans in droves
Sat Oct 5, 2024, 02:38 PM
Oct 5

unavoidable. Keep letting the authorities know All will eventually be sorted out.

brakester

(150 posts)
54. I googled this
Sat Oct 5, 2024, 02:51 PM
Oct 5

I googled "are there armed men patrolling in Black Mountain, NC. OCT 4, 2024?" and didn't get anything.
I live in an area in western North Carolina near this.

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