A Stanley man has been charged with impersonating a law enforcement officer, a Class A misdemeanor, following an incident on Dec. 22 at a Stanley church.

James Wyatt Adams, 28, Stanley, made his initial appearance on the charge in North Central District Court on Thursday, where he entered a plea of not guilty.

According to the affidavit of probable cause, a Stanley Police officer was dispatched to the Pursuit Church in Stanley on Dec. 22 for a report of a male possibly impersonating law enforcement. The reporting party told the officer when he and his family were exiting the church they noticed Adams standing by the exit with his arms crossed, wearing sunglasses and a badge on his right hip.

When the reporting party asked Adams about the badge, Adams said he was working a “private government security detail” but took the badge off and put it in his pocket and refused to let the party inspect it more.

Adams was eventually located in a supply closet in the church. He told the officer he works private security for “G FORCE Security” and had been in Bismarck a few days prior, working armed security for Gov. Doug Burgum.

Adams said he had given the badge to his brother but consented to a search of a bag he was carrying, which contained a firearm.

The officer had Central Dispatch contact the North Dakota Highway Patrol Security Detail at the Governor’s Office, which advised they had no information showing Adams was on any security detail. The NDHP representative indicated the detail is primarily made up of state law enforcement officers, with private security, when used, typically coming from out of state. According to the affidavit, Gov. Kelly Armstrong’s head of security requested Adams’ information as a result of the incident.

Adams was arrested and transported to the Mountrail County Correctional Center. Adams filed a promise to appear on Dec. 30 and posted a bond of $150 on Jan. 3. A pretrial conference has been scheduled for March 6.