As President Jimmy Carter’s body lay in state Wednesday, Capitol Police arrested a man they said tried to get a machete into the building.
Officers spotted a machete in the man’s bag as it went through an x-ray machine during a security screening at the Capitol Visitor Center’s north doors just after 2 p.m., the department posted on X. Three knives were also found in the bag.
The man was later identified as Mel J. Horne, 44, of Washington, D.C.
“Security screening was temporarily stopped at the north side of the Capitol Visitor Center, while the USCP investigated, but the checkpoint was reopened approximately an hour later,” the department said in a press release.
Horne faces multiple charges of carrying a dangerous weapon, according to the release.
The Capitol Visitor Center was closed to usual tours Wednesday for the memorial to Carter, who died last month. Instead, mourners were lining up and filing through the Capitol Rotunda to view the former president’s casket.
There has been a heightened security presence at the Capitol because of the fourth anniversary of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack, the events honoring Carter and the upcoming presidential inauguration. For the first time, Congress’ certification of election results received National Special Security Event status from the Department of Homeland Security. And hours after Horne was arrested, President-elect Donald Trump was at the Capitol meeting with Senate Republicans and paying his respects to Carter.
A large perimeter of fencing has surrounded the Capitol in recent days, though Carter’s viewing is open to the public.
Horne’s arrest was not the only disturbance Wednesday. Around 5:30 p.m., police were alerted to a man, parked on First Street NW near the Grant Memorial, who had lit a bag on fire on top of his car, according to a separate press release.
The bag extinguished on its own, but police took Adrian J. Hinton, 35, of Virginia, into custody. Investigators determined the bag contained accelerants, and he could face charges of unlawful activity, police said.
It did not appear the two incidents were connected, according to the release.
“Twice today our officers stopped a man who could have been a danger to the Capitol Hill community,” Capitol Police Chief J. Thomas Manger said in a statement. “This vigilance is critical during this time of heightened security.”
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