When, on Saturday 10th October 2015,  about 30 bearded men, all members of Bearded Villains, an international organization for beard aficionados met up at the historic Brahehus Castle outside Granna, Sweden posed for a group photo seen here, they never imagined a suprise visit from the police an hour later.

The cops showed up after receiving a call from a passing male driver who reported having seen a group of terrorists purpotedly carrying the Islamic State’s flag.  Andreas Fransson, a Bearded Villains group member said “Being mistaken for ISIS is depressing, because it means that people are so quick in their judging, they see a flag, black with (white) text, and bearded men, and instantly assume we are ISIS,”.
Bearded Villains, which was founded last year, is an organization of beard enthusiasts with chapters across the world, from Miami to Germany to Kuwait. Its website and social media accounts highlight funny aphorisms about beards, share grooming tips and sell Bearded Villains merchandise.

The Bearded Villains’ flag, as can be seen in the photo below, features the group’s name in white text and the image of two swords:

The Swedish chapter is said to be a charitable group, having previously raised money for the Swedish Prostate Cancer Foundation and for organizations addressing homelessness in the United States.