A Washington, DC man was detained Wednesday after he allegedly tried to slip a machete and three knives into the US Capitol Visitor Center hours before President-elect Donald Trump was due to arrive.
US Capitol Police said they plan to charge Mel J. Horne, 44, who was stopped at an X-ray scanner at the entrance to the legislative complex, with multiple counts of carrying a dangerous weapon.
“Our officers know they cannot let their guard down for one second,” US Capitol Police Chief J. Thomas Manger said in a statement. “It is this constant focus and attention to detail that helps keep this campus safe.”
Authorities assessed afterward that there is “no ongoing threat towards the Congress” or the public and intend to interview Horne.
“During security screening at the CVC’s [Capitol Visitor Center’s] north doors, our officers spotted a machete in the man’s bag, stopped the X-ray machine, arrested the man, and secured the machete,” read a statement from the department.
“Three knives were also found in the bag, along with the machete. Security screening was temporarily stopped at the north side of the Capitol Visitor Center while we investigated.”
The incident took place around 2 p.m. It is not clear what, if any, motivation the suspect may have had in trying to get the weapons past security.
The Capitol and the surrounding area has been placed under stepped-up security ahead of Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20, among other events. The heightened security measures include metal anti-scale riot fencing around the Capitol and increased numbers of police.
The late former President Jimmy Carter’s casket has also been lying in state in the Capitol Rotunda since Tuesday evening ahead of his state funeral Thursday.
Officials said while the arrest of Horne led to the closure of the Capitol Visitor Center’s north side checkpoint for about an hour, it did not interrupt public viewing of Carter lying in repose.
Trump, 78, was due to visit the Capitol Wednesday evening to pay his respects to the 39th president and huddle with Senate Republican leaders to chart out the GOP agenda for the next two years.
Increasing threats of political violence have alarmed law enforcement officials over recent months.
Trump has survived two assassination attempts, including one last July 13 during a rally in Butler, Pa., when a bullet came within a quarter inch of killing him and another on Sept. 15, when a Secret Service agent on patrol opened fire on and later apprehended a gunman who had been hiding in the bushes at the president-elect’s West Palm Beach golf course.
On Election Day, a man who “smelled like fuel” was arrested at a Capitol security checkpoint while carrying both a blowtorch lighter and flare gun.
In December 2023, Capitol Police busted a 23-year-old homeless man whom they found with a machete, brick and a knife outside the seat of the legislative branch.
In that case, there was no evidence that the man had been targeting individual lawmakers. That suspect was charged with one count of carrying a dangerous weapon and possession of a prohibited weapon.
Both chambers of the 119th Congress had been sworn in last Friday, Jan. 3, while the results of the 2024 election were certified on Monday.
https://nypost.com/2025/01/08/us-news/machete-wielding-man-arrested-at-capitol-ahead-of-trump-visit/
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