A man who was arrested at the US Capitol for trying to enter the Visitor Center carrying a torch lighter and a torch gun was also in possession of “what appears to be a statement” focusing on his views on the conflict in the Middle East, US Capitol Police (USCP) confirmed.
Police said they took 28-year-old Austin M. Olson of Westland, Michigan into custody on Tuesday afternoon — the same day Americans went to the polls in the U.S. election — after he was stopped while going through a security screening process at a polling station. Capitol Visitor Center at Officers’ Place Smell of fuel fumes Coming from his clothes.
Olson’s arrest led to the building being placed on lockdown for the day while police investigated.
The USCP wrote in a news release that as Olson moved through the security line, he was asked to put his bag and jacket through an X-ray machine, where officers Spotted the lighter and flare gunWhich raises their suspicions.
A manual search led them to find the two objects in addition to two bottles of fuel. While they searched the man, they also found what they found Believe is a statementIn addition to a letter to Congress explaining his views on tensions in the Middle East, but he did not clarify the contents of either document.
Photos of the flare gun, fuel, and torch lighter seized by Capitol Police.
Bulletin/United States Capitol Police
According to the USCP, they then tracked Olson’s previous movements, which led them to his car parked nearby. The K9 unit and critical incident response team did not turn up anything of note in the sedan.
Get breaking national news
For news affecting Canada and around the world, sign up to get breaking news alerts delivered to you right as they happen.
“If our officers had not stopped this man, yesterday would have been a very different story than this one,” US Capitol Police Chief J. Thomas Manger said. “All of our employees continue to work together around the clock during this heightened security environment.”
Police say they believe Olson traveled to the Washington, D.C., area from Michigan on Monday, but are unsure what, if anything, he intended to do with the items seized during the check.
Olson faces charges of possession of a prohibited weapon, illegal activities and disorderly conduct.
&Copy 2024 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
