Capitol Police arrest man with machete during Carter visitation and before Trump meeting
Washington — A man arrested with a machete and other knives on Wednesday afternoon at the Capitol Visitor Center told Capitol Police he was homeless, according to charging documents.
The charging documents identified the man as Mel Horne.
The arrest came hours ahead of President-elect Donald Trump's visit to Capitol Hill to meet with Senate Republicans as lawmakers consider how to enact his agenda and as the public paid homage to former President Jimmy Carter, who was lying in state in the Capitol Rotunda. Those wishing to view Carter's casket entered through the Capitol Visitor Center.
Horne was arrested after he placed a brown backpack, two folding knives and a box cutter in a container during a security screening, the charging documents said. A machete was discovered in the backpack after it went through an X-ray machine.
Horne stated that he was visiting the Capitol to attend Carter's lying in state and that he possessed the knives and machete to use for landscaping work, according to the charging documents. The man revised his story after an officer questioned the landscaping story, nothing that snow had blanketed Washington in recent days. Horne said he was not coming from a landscaping job and that he was homeless and carried the items everywhere he travels, the documents said.
He has been charged with carrying a dangerous weapon.
Law enforcement increased security around the Capitol before Monday, when lawmakers met to count the electoral votes and affirm Trump's victory.