An aide to California's self-proclaimed "top cop" and two others were arrested after Los Angeles authorities alleged they had been running a bizarre and fake police department that claims to have roots in an ancient secret society.

Brandon Kiel, David Henry and Tonette Hayes were arrested under suspicion of impersonating police officers last week for their roles in the so-called "Masonic Fraternal Police Department," which bills itself as a 3,000-year-old police force that has jurisdiction in 33 states as well as Mexico, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said.

Kiel has worked as a deputy director of community affairs for state attorney general Kamala Harris, who, ironically, places herself at the top of California's law enforcement food chain. According to state employee records, he was employed in a low-level communications job in 2014 and paid a salary of about $66,000.

The criminal charge against one of her staff could be an embarrassing distraction as the former San Francisco district attorney prepares to make a run for a U.S. Senate seat. Harris' office did not immediately respond to Mashable's request for comment.

The Fraternal Masonic Police Department's website claims the organization was founded in 1,100 B.C. by the Knights of Templar, an ancient Christian order formed during the Crusades. The department says it derives its authority from its longevity.

"When asked what is the difference between The Masonic Fraternal Police Department and other Police Departments the answer is simple for us. We were here first!" a statement on the organization's website reads. "We are born into this Organization our bloodlines go deeper then an application. This is more then a job it is an obligation."

Law enforcement officials first grew suspicious of the group when various agencies received letters announcing that Henry had been elected chief of the fictitious department earlier this year. Kiel, who identified as the group's "Chief Deputy Director," made calls to request a sit-down with the head of each law enforcement agency, according to the sheriff's department.

Captain Roosevelt Johnson of the Sheriff's department agreed to meet with the group and found they were unable to answer fundamental questions about their jurisdiction and what they hoped to accomplish.

Henry and Hayes showed up to the meeting sporting fake uniforms made from black jumpsuits, while Kiel wore a dark blue dress suit and offered Johnson a business card for his justice department job, according to the Associated Press. Hayes was also armed with a handgun. They told Johnson that they were opening a new police station nearby.

During a subsequent investigation, detectives turned up badges, identification cards, weapons, uniforms and "police type vehicles" while searching through two Santa Clarita homes, officials said.

In a Google+ page, Henry refers to himself as Supreme Sovereign Illuminated Grandmaster Henry X and mentions the Illuminati often. A YouTube video posted to his account shows Henry, dressed in full regalia, standing alongside police and community leaders at a 2013 press conference calling for peace in the wake of a court ruling that acquitted George Zimmerman, the Florida man who killed Trayvon Martin, and sparked a nationwide conversation about that state's stand-your-ground laws.

Grandmaster Henry X (left of the speaker) with police and community leaders at a press conference. Image: YouTube screenshot

In addition to the charges of impersonating cops, Henry was also charged with perjury and Kiel with misuse of government identification.

Kiel was released on $17,500 bail, Hayes on $10,000 bail and Henry on $85,000 bail on April 30, the day they were arrested, according to Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.