Incoherent protesters in Guy Fawkes masks barricade California campground, cops say

Masked protesters who blocked off Westminster Woods on the Northern California coast Friday sparked a huge law enforcement response ending in five arrests — and plenty of mystery, the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office reports.

Wearing Guy Fawkes masks and robes, the protesters have been combative with deputies and speak only in an “incoherent” language, The Press Democrat reported

“They have not cooperated in any way, fashion or form,” said sheriff’s Lt. Brandon Cutting, according to the publication. Authorities are still trying to identify the protesters.

Guy Fawkes masks, inspired by a man who tried to blow up Parliament in England in 1605, have been made popular in recent years by the hacker group Anonymous and “V for Vendetta,” a graphic novel and film about a futuristic anarchist uprising, The Economist reported.

Deputies responded to reports of suspicious people in masks blocking entry to Westminster Woods near Camp Meeker at 6 p.m. Friday, Sonoma County sheriff’s officials wrote on Facebook.

Deputies and SWAT officers, called after a bystander reported seeing a gun, closed Bohemian Highway and searched the camp, sheriff’s officials reported. No gun was found.

Westminster Woods is a private camp and conference center in the Sonoma County redwoods, according to its website.

Sheriff’s officials say the protesters, who had blocked off entry to the camp with large vehicles, apparently had “some disdain” for a group meeting at the site, The Press Democrat reported.

This story was originally published November 17, 2019 at 11:18 AM with the headline "Incoherent protesters in Guy Fawkes masks barricade California campground, cops say."