A Massachusetts man carrying a handgun in his waistband was arrested this week shortly after receiving a tour of the Capitol, and an officer who performed a security search and let the man in the building has been suspended pending an investigation, police announced Thursday.
James A. Faber, 27, was found leaving the Library of Congress on Tuesday afternoon with a 9 mm handgun and a magazine containing eight rounds of ammunition, according to Capitol Police.
“USCP security video shows the man entered through the south [Capitol Visitor Center] checkpoint. After the magnetometers sounded, an officer performed a secondary hand search, and the man was let into the building,” Capitol Police said in a statement Thursday.
The incident was condemned by House Administration Chair Bryan Steil, R-Wis., and ranking member Joseph D. Morelle, D-N.Y., in a joint statement Thursday.
“We are severely disappointed in the security failure earlier this week at the CVC. Ensuring visitors, staff, and Members of Congress are safe in the U.S. Capitol is our top priority, as it should be for the USCP,” Steil and Morelle wrote. The House Administration Committee has jurisdiction over the Capitol Police and campus.
Earlier that day, Capitol Police received an alert about “a man with reported mental health issues and suicidal thoughts who was believed to be armed and in the area,” according to the statement.
Around 1:15 p.m., police located Faber’s car on First Street near East Capitol Street NE, and conducted a canvass of the area, according to police. It was discovered then that the man had recently entered the Capitol Visitor Center and taken a tour of the building, though Capitol Police said there’s no indication the man intended on harming anyone in Congress.
According to the Capitol Police blotter, Metropolitan Police Department officers performed a firearm detection K9 sweep of the vehicle that came back positive. Around 2:15 p.m., the suspect was observed leaving the Library of Congress and approaching the car.
“The Suspect then attempted to put his hands in his pockets and was restrained by multiple officers on scene. The Suspect resisted officers by locking his arms to his sides and was then placed in handcuffs,” according to the Capitol Police blotter.
Faber could face charges of unlawful activities, carrying a pistol without a license, possession of an unregistered firearm, unlawful possession of ammunition and resisting arrest, according to Capitol Police.
The arrest came just as police were beginning to relax the security posture around the Capitol, which had been heightened in the wake of last year’s presidential election and in preparation for the certification of election results on Jan. 6, along with the inauguration of President Donald Trump on Monday.
The inauguration was deemed a National Special Security Event. For weeks the area was heavily policed. Large fences limited access to parts of the campus.
“Thankfully nobody was hurt. The USCP demands the highest standards when it comes to screening visitors, so a full review of this incident has already been ordered, as well as mandatory refresher training on security screening, so this never happens again,” Capitol Police said in its statement.
Steil and Morelle vowed to review the incident and require the Capitol Police to review its screening practices.
“The USCP has requested a nearly $1 billion budget from Congress for their operations, which includes extraneous items that miss the mark in terms of their number one priority, keeping the U.S. Capitol and all who visit and work here safe,” the pair said in the joint statement.
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