Police arrest man at US Capitol smelling of fuel who had manifesto, flare gun and blow torch
U.S. Capitol Police announced Tuesday that officers arrested a man who “smelled like fuel” and had a torch and a flare gun at the U.S. Capitol.
Capitol police said the man, whose name was not immediately released, was stopped during the security screening process 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 posted on X.
Fox is told the suspect also wrote a 25-page manifesto and indicated that on Tuesday he intended to deliver it to Congress.
The arrest happened around 12:30 p.m. ET, congressional security sources and those familiar with the investigation told Fox News.
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The sources said the suspect’s clothes reeked of fuel and his clothes were wet. Capitol Police picked up on this immediately and arrested him. His clothes were removed immediately, the sources added.
A view of the U.S. Capitol in Washington D.C., on Nov. 4, 2024, ahead of the Presidential Election. (Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
The sources confirmed the suspect had a blow torch, a flare gun and other flammable liquids with him.
One senior source told Fox News that investigators were not certain if the suspect intended to self-immolate himself.
The suspect is described as being a White male in his late-20s who drove all night from Michigan to the Capitol, sources tell Fox News.
At a press conference, Capitol Police Chief Thomas Manger said “some” of the suspect’s clothing smelled like gasoline, “but not all of it,” so “it’s really unknown at this point what his intention was.”
“There’s no indication right now that it had anything to do with the election,” Manger said, adding that the U.S. Capitol Police have “an enhanced posture in terms of our security,” that will likely continue “through and beyond the inauguration, if need be.”
A view of the security fence near the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 4, 2024, ahead of the Presidential Election. (Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Sources told Fox News the suspect appeared to be acting alone and was not on the U.S. Capitol Police’s radar.
Manger said police also located the suspect’s vehicle several blocks away and seized it as part of the ongoing investigation.
“He had papers with him that he said his intent was to deliver them to Congress,” Manger said when asked about the reported manifesto.
“We’re still going through all of those papers,” he said. “It’s quite a bit, and we are trying to determine where, in fact, he did come from.”
Manger described how officers noticed two bottles and “what appeared to be something in the shape of a firearm” in the suspect’s backpack on the conveyor belt and acknowledged a “faint odor of gasoline.”
“And when they pulled the backpack off the conveyor belt, they noticed a much stronger scent of gasoline,” he said, later adding that the substance could have been either gasoline or “some sort of accelerant,” and that “it appeared that at least one of the bottles was leaking, and that’s why the backpack smelled so strongly.”
Manger said officers found a flare gun, a lighter and a torch lighter in the suspect’s jacket, as well as “other articles in his backpack.” The chief described the suspect as “very compliant” with police. The man was said to have hesitated briefly and was urged by officers to speed up going through security. He is now being interviewed by investigators, Manger said.
The arrest happened on Election Day, as voters across the country head to the polls.
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On Monday, the Secret Service confirmed that it was erecting barriers around major sites in the nation’s capital, including the White House and the vice president’s residence at the U.S. Naval Observatory.
Meanwhile, private businesses in major cities, like New York, Portland and Washington, D.C., have also followed suit by boarding up their storefronts.
Businesses near the White House set up security measures in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 4, 2024, ahead of possible violence on and after the Nov. 5 election. (BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)
In a statement to Fox News Digital, the Secret Service said it was “working closely” with federal, state and local partners in both the nation’s capital and Palm Beach County, Florida, in order to implement “heightened levels of safety and security” ahead of Tuesday’s election. In addition to the White House and the Naval Observatory, fencing will also block off the Treasury Department in Washington, D.C., and authorities have used bike-rack barriers to fortify the Capitol, according to The Washington Post.
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Meanwhile, Howard University, where Harris will be on election night, will also see heightened security measures, the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department indicated.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates. Fox News’ Alec Schemmel contributed to this report.
