A group of residents from an island town in Maine cut down a tree and dragged it into the middle of a road in an attempt to forcibly quarantine three roommates they believed could have the new coronavirus after arriving from out of state, law enforcement officials said on Saturday.

The tree was discovered after one of the roommates left their residence on Cripple Creek Road in Vinalhaven, an island off the coast of Maine, at about 3:30 p.m.

on Friday to see why the cable service wasn’t working, the Knox County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.

“While investigating the downed tree, a neighbor started yelling at him and a group of people showed up and began to gather around,” the sheriff’s office said.

An earlier statement from the sheriff’s office said someone had reported that “several people with guns had cut down a tree and were telling them that they need to stay quarantined.”.

And in Alaska, almost all people, whether or not they live there, must quarantine themselves upon arrival.The roommates in Maine used a radio to contact the Coast Guard and a drone to keep an eye on the group outside until the authorities arrived, the sheriff’s office said.

The sheriff’s office said deputies “learned that there is a general belief by some island residents that the Cripple Creek residents are supposed to be quarantined because they came here from another state and could have Covid-19,” the disease caused by the coronavirus.

An exchange between the roommates and some local residents “apparently didn’t go very well,” she said, adding that “a group of local vigilantes decided to take matters into their own hands, and barricade these guys into their rental property.”