U.S. Capitol Police have arrested a man who lit a bag on fire and put it on top of his car near the Grant Memorial.
Around 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, USCP officers said that the car was “spray painted” and that the man tried to light it on fire, but that the fire extinguished on its own near the memorial on First Street NW, the agency said in a news release. Police said there were “accelerants” in the bag.
The man’s identity has not yet been released, but the agency said he’s 35 years old and from Virginia. He was arrested for “unlawful activities.”
USCP said that “out of an abundance of caution,” the vehicle was deemed “suspicious” and the Hazardous Incident Response Division came in to clear the vehicle.
Police said they do not yet know the motive for the fire and do not believe that it is linked to an earlier incident at the Capitol where a man attempted to bring a machete and knives through the security checkpoint.
“Twice today our officers stopped a man who could have been a danger to the Capitol Hill community,” said U.S. Capitol Police Chief J. Thomas Manger in the news release. “This vigilance is critical during this time of heightened security.”
The car was deemed “not a danger to the public” around 7 p.m.
USCP said that public viewing for the lying in state of former President Jimmy Carter overnight into Thursday was not stopped.