A man seen driving on a sidewalk near the U.S. Capitol on Thursday morning was arrested and a bomb squad cleared a suspicious car, authorities say.
Law enforcement agencies are on high alert following the deadly truck attack in New Orleans and a truck explosion in Las Vegas a day earlier.
U.S. Capitol Police officers took no chances when they saw a driver in a gray sedan with Virginia license plates drive onto the sidewalk and into a grassy area near Constitution Avenue and 3rd Street NW at about 10 a.m. Officers placed the man in handcuffs.
“We didn’t know what we had at that point. We certainly were concerned with what was in the car,” Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger said.
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NBC Washington video shows officers arresting the man. Dozens of officers in cars and on bikes responded to the area and shut down streets. People were asked to avoid the location as the bomb squad searched the car.
Police soon learned the man had a reason to be in the area: He was a telecommunications employee working on a temporary cellphone site for Inauguration Day.
“It turns out he’s a contractor who is working in the area, and he just decided that he was going to park on the sidewalk,” Manger said.
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The driver’s trajectory was “very concerning to our officers, and they took quick action,” he added.
The driver, a 26-year-old from Georgia, was charged with reckless driving.
Residents and visitors can expect high security around the U.S. Capitol for several high-profile events in the days ahead, Manger said:
- Former President Jimmy Carter’s funeral is Jan. 9
- The People’s March is Jan. 18
- President-elect Donald Trump will hold a rally Jan. 19 at Capital One Arena
- Inauguration Day and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day is Jan. 20.
Manger said he has one fear with the events on the horizon.
“The biggest fear that law enforcement has around the country is that lone wolf that you have no warning and they just show up and they do something. This is exactly what occurred in New Orleans,” he said.
People can expect to see officers, including with long guns, all over Capitol grounds in the days to come, the chief said.
Multiple law enforcement agencies are scheduled to hold a news conference Friday on security preparations.
