Police in Virginia confiscated two firearms from Black men at a rally for gun rights, adding fuel to residents' concerns about law enforcement applying double standards when it comes to the open carry policy.

Reuters reporters, who witnessed the incident on Monday at the annual Lobby Day in Richmond, Virginia, said there was a stark contrast between the officers' approach towards the Black and the white demonstrators. While police stopped a car of Black men and took their guns, dozens of white pro-gun activists marched on foot and traveled in hundreds of trucks, driving unimpeded through the streets with “Guns Save Lives” flags, Reuters reported.

One of the Black men who had his weapon confiscated during the Martin Luther King Jr. Day rally called out the officers for a double-standard. He also reminded the officers that such incidents are the reason why Black people don't like the police.

A Black woman, who also witnessed the confiscation, added to the backlash against the officers.

“Everybody in the city is carrying today, and you’re only pulling us over,” she yelled. “Shoutout to Martin Luther King Day!”

Mike Dunn, a leader of the Boogaloo Bois, bragged about his white privilege during the rally. Dunn used his megaphone to address reporters, touting his group's audacity to openly carry semiautomatic rifles “in pure defiance” of local laws and “rocking mags (ammunition magazines) with double the legal limit.”

The Boogaloo Boi delivered his shameless speech about an hour before police stopped the Black men. He also confirmed to Reuters that his group didn't face any resistance from the police. According to Reuters, the city bans openly carrying guns at large public events. But officers didn't intervene against most gun owners on Monday.

Police gave a brief statement on Twitter after the rally, saying they issued a summons to Franklin Thurston for possessing a concealed firearm without a permit and they had confiscated the gun.

Earlier today, Franklin Thurston was issued a summons for possession of a concealed firearm without a concealed carry permit at W. Grace Street and Allen Avenue. Officers confiscated the firearm.

— Richmond Police (@RichmondPolice) January 18, 2021

Monday's rally included the Boogaloos in their trademark Hawaiian shirts, as well as the Proud Boys, members of Black Lives Matter 757 and the Original Black Panthers of Virginia. Reporters witnessed some members of the Proud Boys who flashed the OK hand gesture, commonly used as a white power sign.

The Lobby Day event, which originally started as an effort to petition state legislators on issues of public interest, has transformed into a gun rights rally in recent years.

Alain Stephens, a reporter who has studied the history of Black gun ownership, spoke to NPR last year and discussed the root of the double standard when it comes to owning weapons.

"For African American gun owners, the firearm is seen as this tool for charting one's own course and self-defense," Stephens said. "At the very same time, it is also that this lethal implement that could very much be turned against you — and throughout history, has been turned against you. This very much showed up during the civil rights era of the 1960s."

The reporter said Martin Luther King Jr. had also started with indications of being more accepting of Black armed self-defense.

"Firearms had always been part of the movement, even when we talk about nonviolence," he said. "A lot of the coordinators, for instance, like the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, had an uphill battle trying to convince Black southerners to not bring guns to protests."

Boogaloos

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