U.S. Capitol Police said an investigation is underway to determine a Virginia man’s motive for allegedly trying to set a vehicle on fire near the Grant Memorial in DC, which is located at the eastern edge of the National Mall.
According to USCP, on Wednesday, at around 5:30 p.m. officers were alerted about a man parked on First Street, NW. He reportedly a lit a bag and left it burning on top of the car, which had been spraypainted.
As officers were running toward the man, the bag extinguished on its own, USCP reported. Still, out of an abundance of caution, the car was declared suspicious. The Hazardous Incident Response Division cleared the vehicle, and officials determined that the car was not a danger at approximately 7:00 p.m.
However, investigators found the bag contained accelerants, reported USCP. The 35-year-old man involved, Adrian J. Hinton, was arrested and charged with unlawful activities.
USCP said officials do not believe there is an ongoing threat, and they do not believe this case was connected to another threat earlier in the day.
Just after 2 p.m., UCSP said a 44-year-old man from DC, Mel J. Horne, was allegedly caught attempting to bring a machete and three knives through the security checkpoint at the Capitol Visitor Center’s north doors.
He was arrested and charged with multiple counts of carrying a dangerous weapon. USCP said its investigators were also working determine Horne’s motive.
Although the Horne incident shut down the north-side checkpoint for about an hour, neither incident stopped the viewing for the lying in state of President Jimmy Carter.
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