5 arrested after suspicious activity reported near Camp Meeker

Five people were arrested Friday night after a staff member at Westminster Woods reported suspicious people wearing black robes and masks, prompting a massive law enforcement response that closed Bohemian Highway for several hours.

Four of the five people arrested were wearing black robes and Guy Fawkes masks, Sgt. Juan Valencia of the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office said in an email. Valencia, however, wasn’t sure on what charges the individuals were arrested.

Initial reports to authorities Friday suggested that one person appeared to have a gun, prompting many deputies to respond to Westminster Woods, a camp northwest of Camp Meeker on Bohemian Highway, the sheriff’s office said in a Facebook post. The SWAT team and the Sheriff’s Office helicopter, Henry 1, also assisted.

Deputies searched the whole camp, but no guns were found on the property, the Sheriff’s Office said in its Facebook post. No one was injured during the incident.

The CHP closed both lanes of traffic on Bohemian Highway north of Occidental about 5:40 p.m., advising residents on Twitter to avoid the area because of “an active incident.” The roadway was reopened by 8:50 p.m., after the five individuals were arrested and the sheriff’s office gave the all-clear.

Further details about what exactly happened in the area, and the suspects’ motives, were not available Friday night.