The United States Capitol Police have arrested a man who reportedly attempted to bring a machete and several knives into the Capitol Visitor Center (CVC).
In a post on X, the U.S. Capitol Police revealed that a man was “stopped and arrested” on Wednesday afternoon during a screening on the north side of the CVC after a machete was “spotted” in his bag. The Capitol Police also reportedly discovered three knives in the man’s bag.
“During a security screening at the CVC’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,” the Capitol Police added in another post.
The man was identified as Mel J. Horne, 44, according to a press release from the Capitol Police.
U.S. Capitol Police Chief J. Thomas Manger noted that Capitol Police “know they cannot let their guard down.”
“Our officers know they cannot let their guard down for one second,” Manger said in a statement. “It is this constant focus and attention to detail that helps keep this campus safe.”
The Capitol Police added that the man was arrested “for multiple charges of Carrying a Dangerous Weapon.”
The man’s arrest comes as former President James Earl “Jimmy” Carter Jr., who passed away at the end of December at the age of 100, is lying in state in the U.S. Capitol rotunda.
President-elect Donald Trump and his wife, first lady Melania Trump were seen paying their respects to Carter lying in state at the U.S. Capitol.