Did This Oakland Co. Deputy Step Out of Line With Cameraman?

Photo: An Oakland County Sheriff’s deputy confronts an armed man filming the sheriff’s office’s employee parking lot. (Credit: YouTube)

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Videos of clashes between deputies and open-carry activists taping near the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office have been uploaded to the web recently.

The videos, which were posted June 2 and June 3, show Oakland County Sheriff’s deputies confronting the cameraman, claiming he’s not allowed to record the lot of the sheriff’s office or the jail. In one video, a deputy tells the individual that it’s for “security reasons.”

An earlier video posted Oct. 9 shows a deputy questioning the person filming but not trying to stop him.

»VIDEO: Check out Hell’s Saints’s LibertyIsEverything.com YouTube channel

The videos appear on a YouTube channel called LibertyIsEverything.com, which is run by Hell’s Saints. The group, which describes itself as a “group of patriots,” supports and fights for open-carry firearm rights in Michigan. It’s tagline is: ”If fighting for liberty is wrong, then we must be Hell’s Saints.”

The most contentious conflict happens in the June 2 video between an armed cameraman and a deputy at the Oakland County sheriff’s office. The deputy tells the man he can’t be filming the office’s employee parking lot and asks for identification. The man refuses to identify himself and asks the deputy to take a step back because he’s too close.

»WATCH: Check out video of the Hell’s Saints’s march in Flint at ABC 12

Eventually, the deputy begins going through the man’s property, looking for identification. As the deputy appears to be writing up a citation or warning, the man begins yelling at the deputy.

“Thin blue line of cowards!” he’s heard saying. “Think you can do anything you want to the people because of that shiny sh-- badge on your chest!”

»READ: Find out more about last year’s arrest of Hell’s Saints member Elijah Woody at MLive

The deputy then gives the man the ticket or warning he had been writing and says, “Now you’re free to go, sir. Thank you.”

“And now you’re free to go f--k yourself,” the man replied.

Hell’s Saints activists marched in support of open-carry gun rights in Flint in March. And last year, one of the group’s members, Elijah Woody, was arrested for illegally carrying a handgun underneath his coat during a group event in Detroit. He was found not guilty after a January trial.

WHAT DO YOU THINK? Did these Oakland County Sheriff’s deputies cross the line when dealing with these activists filming the sheriff’s office building? Or were the activists deliberating provoking them? Leave your thoughts and opinions in the comments section.

VIDEO POSTED JUNE 2

VIDEO POSTED JUNE 3

VIDEO POSTED OCT. 9