Read article twice.
My understanding , under cover cops posing as “bad guys” would only have guns illegally .
Flagging them as having permits , shows their not who they say they are.
First hunch is they’re cops by the bad guys.
I thought police didn’t have permits.
For the undercover guys/gals, maybe that’s part of their “cover”.
In some states a cop has to get a carry permit in order to carry off-duty.