Police searched a suspicious van parked outside the US Capitol building (Picture: AP/EPA)
A man was arrested outside the US Capitol carrying multiple unregistered guns and ammo in a ‘suspicious’ van, the US Capitol Police said.
Tony H Payne was arrested on Wednesday and charged carrying an unregistered firearm, unregistered ammunition, and carrying a pistol without a license.
Payne, an 80-year-old man from Tunnel Hill, Georgia, was parked illegally on the 100 block of East Capitol Street. The block is situated between the Capitol building and the Supreme Court.
Capitol Police surrounded his vehicle after a K-9 ‘hit’ on the vehicle around 3.45pm.
U.S. Capitol Police investigate near the Supreme Court and Capitol after reports of a suspicious vehicle (Picture: AP)
It is not clear what the police dog detected. A Capitol Police hazardous materials team searched the van and cleared it after officers noticed a pipe and containers inside.
During the hours-long search, police blocked traffic from several streets in the surrounding area and evacuated the Library of Congress across the street.
When he was questioned by authorities, Payne said that he was here to deliver documents to the Supreme Court and admitted he was carrying firearms.
Officers recovered two handguns and a shotgun from the van.
Investigators found three guns in the suspicious van (Picture: EPA)
‘Weapons are banned from Capitol Grounds, yet dozens of people are arrested each year for violating the law,’ the Capitol police stated.
Police detained two other people, a man and a woman, who were in Payne’s van at the time, but neither were arrested or charged.
The woman travelling with Payne identified herself as Marilyn Seay, WUSA reported. She told the local station that the other individual in the van was Payne’s grandson.
The van was close to the Capitol building, the Library of Congress, and the Supreme Court (Picture: EPA)
Capitol police have been on high alert after multiple incidents with weapons have happened near the seat of the US government.
In August, a man shot himself after crashing his car into a barricade near the Capitol building.
Last September, a man was arrested after bringing multiple knives, a machete, and a bayonet near the headquarters of the Democratic National Convention.
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Capitol Police surrounded his vehicle after a K-9 ‘hit’ on the vehicle around 3.45pm.