WASHINGTON, D.C. (WWJ) — A Michigan man is in police custody after he was caught trying to enter the Capitol Visitor Center in Washington D.C. on Election Day while carrying a flare gun, torch lighter, bottles of fuel and a manifesto.
U.S. Capitol Police officials on Wednesday said 28-year-old Austin Olson of Westland was arrested around 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 5. He is facing charges of possession of a prohibited weapon, unlawful activities and disorderly conduct.
Olson allegedly walked into the Capitol Visitor Center and into the line for the police screening process in order to enter the Capitol Building. When police ordered Olson to put his jacket and bag through the x-ray machine, USCP officers spotted suspicious items on the x-ray.
After a hand search, officers recovered a flare gun, a torch lighter, and two bottles of fuel.
Officials said Olson also “smelled like he doused part of his clothing with fuel.”
A further search of Olson revealed what police say appears to be a manifesto and a letter to Congress focused on his opinions on the Israel-Hamas war in the Middle East.
Olson was handcuffed, interviewed and arrested.
The CVC was closed during the investigation and public tours of the Capitol Building were stopped for the remainder of the day.
USCP investigators tracked Olson’s prior movements and found his car at 9th Street and Maryland Avenue, NE. The car was cleared by the USCP K9 Unit and the Hazardous Incident Response Division.
Investigators learned Olson drove from Michigan to the Washington, D.C. area on Monday, a day before the Presidential Election. Authorities are still investigating why Olson came to the Capitol with those items.
“If our officers did not stop this man, yesterday would have been a very different story than this one,” said U.S. Capitol Police Chief J. Thomas Manger, per a press release. “All of our employees continue to work, together, around the clock during this heightened security environment.”
Capitol Police were assisted by the ATF, FBI and DC Metropolitan Police.