That man, Mel Horne, told police he is homeless and uses the machete for his job as a landscaper. News4’s Paul Wagner reports.
The man charged with trying to bring a machete into the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday says he meant no harm and simply forgot he had the large blade in his bag.
That man, Mel Horne, told police he is homeless and uses the machete for his job as a landscaper.
Hours later after that incident, a second man was arrested and charged with trying to set a car on fire; he is now facing charges in federal court.
Horne walked out of court Thursday with strict orders to stay away from the Capitol. He told police he was there to pay his respects to President Jimmy Carter, but he ended up in handcuffs.
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Horne told News4 he uses the machete for work.
"I do a lot of work, man," he said. "I was moving too fast, man. I had my machete in my bag. I forgot, man."
U.S. Capitol police released a photo of the machete and three other knives. A court affidavit says Horne did not try to conceal the items and was told by police they could not be brought into the Capitol. Horne says he simply made a mistake.
"It is, I’m an Eagle Scout, man, you know what I'm saying? It really is. I’m moving too fast, man. I’m a podcaster. You know, what I’m saying I was doing my thing, showing my respects to the president."
U.S. Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger said he thinks otherwise.
"He was coming in to do harm," Manger said. "Somebody brings in a box cutter, two knives and a machete. We had thousands, thousands of people inside the Capitol. They were paying their respects to President Carter."
A few hours later, about 5:30 p.m., Capitol police officers saw a man setting a bag on fire atop a car on First Street NW. The bag had accelerants inside, police said.
Police identified that man as 35-year-old Adrian Hinton of Virginia.
Hinton's case has been moved from D.C. Superior Court to federal court, where he will likely appear Friday.
"So I think this was an effort to disrupt what was going on inside," Manger said. "All this week we have historic events going on at the Capitol."
"Our biggest threat that we were dealing with was the lone actor," he said.
Capitol police will remain on a heightened state of alert through Jan. 20, when the inauguration of President Donald Trump will be held on the west side of the Capitol.
