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All 11 heavily armed men who claimed they "don't recognize our laws" have been apprehended after a standoff with police in a wooded area off a busy stretch of Interstate 95, according to authorities.
The situation began to unfold in the early morning hours Saturday, July 3 on the stretch of I-95 in Wakefield, Massachusetts, just north of Boston.
As a result, I-95 was shut down between Lynnfield and Stoneham.
Authorities initially had taken two of the suspects in military-style uniforms into custody after they were observed refueling their vehicle in Wakefield overnight. The others fled into the woods, starting the standoff, authorities said.
Just before 11 a.m., Saturday, Massachusetts State Police said, seven other suspects on the highway were taken into custody by MSP Special Tactical Operations Team and "are being transported for booking."
Shortly after that, two additional suspects were located in their vehicles, bringing the total number of those arrested to 11 (the two initially on North Avenue and nine outside and inside the vehicles), said police.
"We will now conduct sweeps of their vehicles and woods," Massachusetts State Police announced. "Thank you to our many partner agencies who assisted."
The men were reportedly observed with long guns slung over their shoulders and said they were en route from Rhode Island to Maine for "training exercises."
"They were observed and arrested by members of the Northeast Metropolitan Law Enforcement Council on North Avenue in Wakefield," police said in a statement at around 6:40 a.m. Saturday after the initial two arrests. "MSP has taken custody of the suspects and transported them to one of our barracks.
This continues to be a developing story. Check back to Daily Voice for updates.
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