An armed Virginia man is the third person arrested in three days near the U.S. Capitol when law enforcement officers strengthened the area for the inauguration day.
Guy Berry, 22, was arrested Sunday afternoon for carrying an unlicensed handgun and possessing a large-capacity ammunition vehicle and unregistered ammunition, according to WJLA.
The firearm was “clearly visible in a holster” when the suspect walked near Washington’s National Mall, police told the local ABC branch.
Berry carried three high-capacity magazines and more than three dozen rounds of unregistered ammunition, the report said.
On Saturday, a woman was arrested in Connecticut after police said she wanted to bluff her past a security check by pretending to be a law enforcement officer.
A day earlier, another heavily armed Virginia man had been charged after trying to drive through a checkpoint with false inaugural speech. Police found him in possession of an unregistered rifle and more than 500 ammunition.
The National Mall was closed to the public after the deadly January 6 uprising on Capital Hill, and people were asked to avoid the area.
Some 25,000 National Guard troops are descending on Washington to replenish the Capitol for the election of President Joe Biden on Wednesday.
Most of the country’s 50 state houses have increased security in anticipation of violent rallies of people who falsely believe the election was deceptively stolen from President Trump.
Meetings of armed protesters Sunday in Lansing and Columbus were nonviolent.