Gun activists get jail for armed video stunt in Dearborn police station

(WJBK) - They called themselves Second Amendment advocates, but a judge called them fools.

James Baker and Brandon Vreeland tried to ambush the Dearborn Police Department by walking in wearing face masks, body armor and armed with guns - while streaming it on Facebook. The two were upset by how they were treated by officers, and then arrested.

Vreeland, 40, will spend up to five years in prison for carrying a concealed weapon, with resisting arrest, opposing an officer and disturbing the peace.

James Baker, 24, received nine months in the Wayne County Jail for carrying a concealed weapon.

Friday the two men got a stern lecture from Judge Mariam Bazzi as they were sentenced for the crime.

"I don't see this as political activism," she said. "I understand the right to own and carry. It is a fundamental right that you certainly would have prior to this day. They took it one step further.

"You wore bullet-proof vests, which is fine, then Mr. Baker is wearing a ski mask and in terms of looking at this in the totality of the circumstances, it was intentionally provocative. Frankly they are both lucky they are alive.

"They are both lucky that the Dearborn police officers present that day have the patience and demeanor to not shoot them, particularly in the atmosphere that exists with police officers around the country."

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