Gun-carrying men who said they are members of Virginia militias staged a protest Saturday evening at the T.C. Walker Education Center in Gloucester. Their appearance was quiet and lasted until night began to fall. Some counter-protestors shouted from a distance, and a few spectators watched from Walker grounds and from across T. C. Walker Road.

Speaking for the group, Mike Dunn said they were protesting the arrests and felony charges issued against four men for allegedly carrying guns to a meeting of the Gloucester County School Board on July 11. The four men were charged with possession of a firearm on school grounds, a Class 6 felony.

The men were confronted by deputies of the Gloucester County Sheriff’s Office after leaving the July 11 meeting, and their guns were seized, according to charging papers. The charges were placed three days later.

Dunn asserted that the Walker Center is listed as a government facility, not a school, and that guns would be legal at such a facility.

Walker for many years served as a county school, with that function ending by school board vote in 2012. It is now headquarters for offices of Gloucester County Public Schools, meeting place for the school board, and location of Head Start classes, a school official said.

At the protest, the men stood quietly, some at attention, some chatting with each other and a handful of spectators, while counter-protestors shouted from a distance. Two uniformed men knelt and one prayed aloud.

Dunn made himself available to media and interested persons. He noted that Gloucester County has declared itself a Second Amendment sanctuary (by board of supervisors’ action in 2019) and said that the arrests were not legal.

“We are standing up for what’s right. Four men were charged. They left peacefully, and were searched and arrested,” he said.

“They attended a meeting in a government facility. The four men exited peacefully and were intercepted by the Gloucester Sheriff’s Office, asked if they were armed, because they spoke up. Sheriff Warren abused his power,” he continued. Before making his remarks, Dunn noted that the group with him, which appeared to contain 8-12 men, had worked together on the statement.

“We are awake. We are ready. We will fight and we will die we will do anything to defend our right enshrined in the constitutions,” he said. “To the officers that are watching this, you violated the Constitution of the United States. Someday you will answer for these violations. You disgust us, you are not our brothers, you have no right to fly our flag, you are a disgrace to liberty,” he said.

As part of the statement, Dunn said, “If we give an inch on our rights today children will be a mile away from their rights tomorrow … I don’t want bloodshed, I don’t want war. I’ve seen war. I’ve been in war. But I promise you I will fight a war if I need to, to protect our children’s future. Freedom is never more than one generation from extinction and we are that generation … Sic semper tyrannis.”

The protest was originally advertised to take place at the sheriff’s office. As media and counter-protestors waited there past the starting time of 6 p.m., word came that the location had been changed to Walker.

The sheriff’s office posted on Facebook at midday Saturday, “The Gloucester County Sheriff’s Office is aware of a protest scheduled for 6:00 PM today at the Gloucester County Sheriff’s Office. We have received information that attendees will be open carrying firearms during this event as supported by the 2nd Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The Sheriff’s Office has taken the necessary measures to help ensure that these individuals are able to express their rights peacefully, and want to make the public aware of the situation.”

At 9:12 p.m., after the protest had ended quietly, the office posted: “Update to protest: The protest that was announced earlier today has concluded. There were no incidents to report. We appreciate the public’s concern and support. This agency will have no further comment at this time regarding the events of this evening.”

Sheriff Warren’s comments

On Monday, Gloucester Sheriff Darrell Warren discussed his office’s awareness of the planned protest and its response.

He said that on that July night the men’s guns were seized, messages began to come that a protest would follow, and he noted a post circulated on social media to come to Gloucester armed on Aug. 19.

Warren said there was no prior conversation with the protestors; he added that Dunn had reached out through another law enforcement source suggesting a meeting, but “he wanted to stipulate who would attend.” Warren offered instead a one-on-one meeting which Dunn, he said, declined.

The office did not know the protest had been moved to Walker, although Warren said he had felt the protestors might go there. “I had a conversation with the school superintendent last week to make sure no staff would be there” on Saturday evening, he said.

No sheriff’s deputies, uniformed or otherwise, were visible either outside the office or at Walker. Warren said, however, some sheriff’s staff members were there “but not visible. We were aware they had showed up at Walker. We were able to monitor it remotely as well as with people in the area.”

Warren said any consequences for the men carrying guns on Walker grounds is something “we are discussing later. Let’s leave it at that.” He added, “We will continue to discuss any violations of state law.”

Judging how to handle a protest of this nature, Warren said, “is a heavy weight on me to do the right thing, safety being number one for everyone, citizens and protestors … I think we made the right decision. No one was placed in harm’s way. Nobody got hurt, and no property was damaged.”

Warren noted that even as the protest was underway at Walker, “We didn’t get any calls for service.”