DENVER —
After taking a closer look at the guns they seized from two men, police said they found nothing illegal about the firearms and returned the weapons and tactical gear back to the owners.
Police seized the weapons and tactical gear on May 29, during the early days of the George Floyd protests in downtown Denver.
>> The video above is from when the weapons were seized.
Police received a tip someone was showing up to the protest with guns, according to a department spokesperson.
“Got a group of 20+ bois heading to the Denver state Capitol,” wrote Chevy McGee, one of the gun owners who posted the message on Facebook the night of the gun seizure.
Mcgee was active on Facebook and shared postings that referenced “Boogaloo Boi” ideology -- a belief system that’s rooted in internet meme culture, gun ownership and the belief a second civil war is impending.
While acting on the tip, Denver Police spokesperson Sonny Jackson said officers observed people transferring guns in cases from one car to another. When officers went to take a closer look, they saw a rifle in a vehicle and were not sure if it was a legal firearm, Jackson said.
After finding more guns and out of concern, police seized the firearms and tactical gear to take a closer look at the weapons, Jackson said.
After finding the weapons and doing measurements, the guns were found to be legal, prompting the department to return the guns and tactical gear to their owners on Wednesday, Jackson said.
McGee has since deleted his Facebook accounts and has distanced himself from the Boogaloo ideology, claiming he’s now going to call himself a “patriot,” in a past posting.
McGee was unreachable for comment as of this publication but told 9NEWS in the past the guns were in his trunk during the protest and that he was there to give medical aid and water.
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