DENVER — Police arrested a Colorado man on June 11 after he held two roofing salesmen at gunpoint while they were knocking on doors.
According to the News & Observer, Scott Gudmundsen, 65, called 911 to report there were two men near his home on Loveland, Colo. wearing masks. He told police he believed they were members of "antifa" going door-to-door in his neighborhood and was going to confront them and hold them until officers arrived.
Antifa, which is shorthand for anti-fascists, is an umbrella term used to describe a loose network of people who aggressively oppose fascism through violent and non-violent actions.
Not long after Gudmundsen’s phone call, police received a call from another person to report a man in “tactical gear” with a rifle was holding two people on the ground at gunpoint.
Police arrived at the scene around 6 p.m. to discover two men in their 20s on the ground wearing matching blue polo shirts adorned with the logo of Premier Roofing Company, a roofing contractor in Denver. Loveland Police Department Lt. Bob Shaffer told the News Tribune that the salesmen were wearing white surgical-style masks due to the pandemic.
Police described Gudmundsen as wearing fatigues and armed with two pistols, one of which appeared to be converted into a longer weapon that looked like a carbine rifle.
It was discovered the two men were canvassing the neighborhood following recent hailstorms. Officers said there was no evidence that the salesmen had done anything wrong and arrested Gudmundsen on suspicion of felony menacing and false imprisonment.
In a statement, Colorado State University officials noted that one of the victims is a football player for the school and a person of color. Chris Tulp, co-founder and CEO of Premier Roofing Company, said that the salesmen were rattled by the incident.
“I have spoken to both teammates and they are understandably shaken,” Tulp said in a statement obtained by NBC-affiliated KUSA. “I want to respect their space. With that said, we intend to stand up for the members of our team who are hard-working, honest, charitable, good people. We are proud of them and deeply saddened that they were subjected to this horrific incident and will stick-with and support them in any way necessary to ensure justice is served.”
KUSA reports a man identifying himself as Gudmundsen’s son emailed them to say his father is ill and currently undergoing treatment at a mental health facility.