WASHINGTON D.C. (WXYZ) — A Westland man was arrested yesterday after trying to get into the U.S. Capitol with a flare gun, a torch lighter and bottles of fuel.
28-year-old Austin Olson has been charged with Possession of a Prohibited Weapon, Unlawful Activities and Disorderly Conduct.
According to United States Capitol Police, the man walked into the Capitol Visitor Center around 12:30 p.m. on Election Day. He was ordered to put his jacket and bag through the X-Ray machine, when officers discovered the items on his person in a hand search. They also say the man smelled as if he had doused his clothes with fueil.
Authorities say that the man also had a manifesto and a letter to congress, with the latter of which being focused on the man's opinions about the Middle East.
The CVC was closed after this incident, with public tours stopped for the rest of the day.
Investigators with Capitol Police say they tracked the man's prior movements, and knew he traveled to Washington, D.C., earlier in the week. They found his vehicle at a nearby intersection, but it was cleared by a K9 unit.
“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 via press release. “All of our employees continue to work, together, around the clock during this heightened security environment.”
