Swedish police swarmed on this gentlemanly beard club who were taking a group photo, because the cops received a call from a worried onlooker who believed the group was a a terrorist meet-up. It was not ISIS, ISIL, Al Qaeda, or anything like that. Just a meeting of a beard enthusiast club. Wonder if the ending would have been as mellow if they hadn’t all been white guys.
The group emblem for the beard society Swedish cops mistook for terrorists.
Here is a Google Machine Translation of the original Swedish newspaper account:
Police in Jönköping, Sweden, received an alarm of suspected IS warriors just north of the city on Saturday. When they got there they had a good laugh. It turned out to be a men’s beard club that had gathered there to be photographed.
— We lined up for a photoshoot, 30 men from the club with our flag and suddenly we see two police officers, says Andreas Fransson, who is a member of Bearded Villains.
A member of the public who passed by on the freeway had seen the gang and alerted the police that the Islamic state (IS), were at the site.
— The police officers laughed when they arrived and saw that it was not some terrorists, just a bunch of happy bearded guys taking photographs, continues Andreas Fransson.
Members of the International beard club meet approximately once a month to socialize. The club has a black flag that is passed between all the clubs in the world and this weekend it was the Swedish club’s turn to take care of it.
— We went to Brahehus with a professional photographer to be photographed with the flag because it was the first time we had it. It is obviously disappointing that someone mistook us for terrorists but also a bit funny, says Andreas.
⚔ BEARDED VILLAINS ⚔This is President @von_knoxAnd @deadskullPhoto for @apothecary87Shot by @gilsphotographyL.A….
Posted by Bearded Villains on Sunday, August 23, 2015