American man from Washington, D.C., was detained on Wednesday after allegedly attempting to bring a machete and three knives into the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center, just hours before President-elect Donald Trump was scheduled to arrive.
According to U.S. Capitol Police, the suspect, identified as 44-year-old Mel J. Horne, was stopped at an X-ray scanner at the legislative complex entrance.
Police plan to charge Horne with multiple counts of carrying dangerous weapons.
“Our officers know they cannot let their guard down for one second,” U.S. Capitol Police Chief J. Thomas Manger stated. “It is this constant focus and attention to detail that helps keep this campus safe.”
Authorities later determined that there was “no ongoing threat towards the Congress” or the public, and they plan to interview Horne.
The department’s statement explained the sequence of events, “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. 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, which occurred around 2 p.m., remains under investigation, and the suspect’s motives are unclear.
Security measures around the Capitol have been heightened ahead of Trump’s inauguration on January 20, as well as other significant events.
Protective measures include anti-scale riot fencing and an increased police presence.
Adding to the significance of the day, the late former President Jimmy Carter’s casket has been lying in state in the Capitol Rotunda since Tuesday evening, ahead of his state funeral scheduled for Thursday.
Despite the temporary closure of the Capitol Visitor Center’s north side checkpoint following Horne’s arrest, public viewing of President Carter’s lying in repose was not disrupted.
President-elect Trump, 78, was expected to visit the Capitol on Wednesday evening to pay his respects to the 39th president and meet with Senate Republican leaders to discuss the GOP’s legislative agenda for the coming two years.
Law enforcement officials remain on edge due to increasing threats of political violence.
Trump has survived two assassination attempts, including one last July during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, where a bullet narrowly missed him, and another on September 15, when a gunman hiding in the bushes at Trump’s West Palm Beach golf course was intercepted by a Secret Service agent.
Incidents involving weapons near the Capitol are not new. On Election Day, a man carrying a blowtorch lighter and flare gun was arrested at a Capitol security checkpoint.
In December 2023, Capitol Police apprehended a 23-year-old homeless man outside the Capitol with a machete, a brick, and a knife.
That suspect, who faced charges of carrying a dangerous weapon and possession of a prohibited weapon, was not believed to have been targeting specific lawmakers.
The 119th Congress was sworn in last Friday, January 3, and the certification of the 2024 election results took place on Monday.
