Masonic Police Department: weird

Slate has an article by Ben Mathis-Lilley about some odd police behavior in, logically, California:

An aide to California's attorney general, Kamala Harris (photo), was arrested last week, which is not unusual, because political figures often get arrested. What was unusual was that the individual, Brandon Kiel, was arrested on charges, not of corruption or abuse of power, but for involvement in "a rogue police force that claimed to exist for more than three thousand years and have jurisdiction in thirty-three states and Mexico." 

What? 

From The Los Angeles Times:

 

Brandon Kiel, David Henry, and Tonette Hayes (photos, above) were arrested last week on suspicion of impersonating a police officer through their roles in the Masonic Fraternal Police Department, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

What?

Suspicions about the Masonic Fraternal Police Department, whose members trace their origins to the Knights Templar, were aroused when various police chiefs in Southern California received a letter in late January of 2015 that announced new leadership for the group, sheriff’s officials said.
After the letters were mailed, a man, claiming to be Kiel and describing himself as the police force’s “chief deputy director”, called various law enforcement agencies to schedule in-person meetings, sheriff’s officials said.
A subsequent investigation found "badges, weapons, uniforms, and law enforcement paraphernalia" at sites affiliated with the group, which has a website.

What is going on?

Rico says what's going on is people acting like children, only with real gubs... (And the likelihood of blacks making into the original Knights Templar was low.)