A man who “smelled like fuel” and was carrying a torch and a flare pistol was taken into custody at the U.S. Capitol, according to a statement released by U.S. Capitol Police on Tuesday.
The individual, whose name was not immediately made public, was stopped by Capitol police while going through the security check at the Capitol Visitor Center (CVC).
“The CVC is closed for tours for the day, while we investigate. We will provide more information when we can,” Capitol police stated on X.
Additionally, the suspect composed a 25-page manifesto, which he said he planned to send to Congress on Tuesday. According to congressional security officials and people with knowledge of the inquiry, the arrest took place at approximately 12:30 p.m. ET.
According to the sources, the suspect’s clothing was damp and smelled like fuel. When Capitol Police realized this right away, they took him into custody. According to the sources, his clothing was taken off right away.
According to the sources, the suspect was carrying flammable liquids, a flare gun, and a blow torch. According to sources, the suspect is a white man in his late 20s who spent the entire night driving from Michigan to the Capitol.
“Some” of the suspect’s clothing smelled like gasoline, “but not all of it,” according to Capitol Police Chief Thomas Manger, who stated during a press conference that “it’s really unknown at this point what his intention was.”
According to Capitol Police Chief Thomas Manger, “some” of the suspect’s clothing smelled like gasoline, “but not all of it.” Manger said this during a press conference.
Manger responded, “He had papers with him that he said his intent was to deliver them to Congress,” in reference to the purported manifesto.
“We’re still going through all of those papers,” he stated. “It’s quite a bit, and we are trying to determine where, in fact, he did come from.”
Officers found two bottles and “what appeared to be something in the shape of a firearm” in the suspect’s rucksack on the conveyor belt, according to Manger, who also mentioned a “faint odor of gasoline.”
The substance could have been gasoline or “some sort of accelerant,” he added, adding that “it appeared that at least one of the bottles was leaking, and that’s why the backpack smelled so strongly.” “And when they pulled the backpack off the conveyor belt, they noticed a much stronger scent of gasoline,” he said.
According to Manger, the suspect’s jacket had a flare gun, a lighter, and a torch lighter, along with “other articles in his backpack.” The suspect was “very compliant” with the police, according to the chief. According to reports, the man stopped for a moment before authorities persuaded him to proceed through security more quickly. Investigators are presently interviewing him, Manger said.
As people nationwide prepare to cast their ballots, the arrest took place on election day.
Major locations in the nation’s capital, such as the White House and the vice president’s house at the U.S. Naval Observatory, would be surrounded by barricades, the Secret Service announced Monday.
In the meantime, private companies have boarded up their storefronts in big cities including Portland, New York, and Washington, D.C.
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To establish “heightened levels of safety and security” in advance of Tuesday’s election, the Secret Service said it was “working closely” with federal, state, and local partners in Palm Beach County, Florida, as well as the nation’s capital.
According to The Washington Post, authorities have fortified the Capitol using bike-rack barriers, and fence will also enclose the Treasury Department in Washington, D.C., in addition to the White House and the Naval Observatory.
Meanwhile, the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department said that increased protection will be in place at Howard University, where Harris will be on election night.
