The US Capitol Police arrested a Maryland man in a delivery truck headed to the U.S. Capitol on Friday morning when authorities found an assault-style rifle in the vehicle.
US Capitol Police Confiscated A Assault-Style Rifle At Screening Facility Before Heading To Capitol Hill (PHOTO: CBS News)
The US Capitol Police Confiscated A Rifle Found In A Delivery Truck Headed To U.S. Capitol
The delivery truck driver was identified as Michael J. Donohue 57-year-old from Maryland. Donohue is currently facing multiple charges, such as possession of unregistered ammunition, possession of an unregistered firearm, and unlawful activity, according to US Capitol Police.
CBS News reports that in a statement, shortly after 5 a.m. Friday, US Caoitpl police said officers spotted the rifle at a security checkpoint off Capitol grounds where delivery vehicles are inspected before they are allowed to proceed to the Capitol. Moreovre, the firearm was partially wrapped in a blanket in the back seat of a Ford truck.
A US Capitol Police spokesman would not identify the location of the facility and the case is still being investigated. “there is no evidence that shows this person was targeting the Congress or the Capitol Complex” US Capitol Police added.
US Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger was grateful to their entire squad at the off-site screening facility for preventing firearms before they reached anywhere near the US Capitol Complex.
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US Capitol Police Have Been Confiscating Firearms Since Before
U.S. Capitol police officers seized about 40 guns on or near Capitol grounds last 2022, according to the release, mostly from people going through the area. Even firearms that are legally registered in another state, are prohibited in the Capitol Complex.
Last October, several firearms were recovered and three individuals were jailed when authorities investigated a suspicious vehicle around the Capitol. In January 2022, police noticed a gun case and the butt of a long gun in the woman’s car near US Capitol Police headquarters and they arrested the woman right away.
