US Capitol Police have identified the man who was arrested on Wednesday after he attempted to set fire to a car while President-elect Donald Trump paid his respects to former President Jimmy Carter, who was lying in state in the Capitol Rotunda in Washington, DC
Police announced Thursday morning that Virginia man Adrian J. Hinton, 35, is the suspect.
He faces charges of illegal activities after he placed a burning bag on top of a car near the Grant Memorial at about 5:30 p.m.
Authorities said the bag burned without igniting anything else.
The US Capitol is surrounded by fencing in preparation for January 6, 2025. (Fox News Digital)
It was packed with accelerant and Hinton's car was spray-painted, according to Capitol Police.
Hinton's arrest was one of two serious incidents at the Capitol on Wednesday, as Trump, lawmakers and thousands of Americans lined up to say goodbye to Carter.
The police too Police arrested a man who, about three hours earlier, arrived at the Capitol with an array of knives, including a machete, who attempted to pass a security checkpoint using an X-ray machine at the Capitol Visitor Center.
Mel J. Horn, 44, faces multiple counts of carrying a dangerous weapon.
US Capitol Police stopped a man from entering the Capitol building at a security checkpoint, after he was found to be carrying a machete and three knives in his bag. (US Capitol Police)
Capitol Police said they couldn't believe it Two incidents It was connected. None of the arrests interrupted Carter's service.
“Twice today our officers arrested a man who could have posed a danger to the Capitol Hill community,” Capitol Police Chief J. Thomas Manger said in a statement. “This vigilance is critical during this time of heightened security.”
Carter was scheduled to lie in state from 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday until 7 a.m. on Thursday.
A Boy Scout troop salutes as they pay their respects in front of a flag-draped casket at the state lying in state for former President Jimmy Carter in the US Capitol Rotunda in Washington, DC on January 8, 2025. Carter, the 39th President of the United States, died at the age of 100 in December 29, 2024 at his home in Plains, Georgia. (Samuel Corum/AFP via Getty Images)
The former president, the 39th man to hold this position, died on December 29 at the age of 100.
Carter, a Democrat, was a devout Christian who served in the Navy and was also governor of Georgia before being elected to the White House.
Perhaps his signature achievement was the Camp David Accords, which sought to stabilize the Middle East through a deal involving Israel and Egypt. But his inability to resolve the hostage crisis in Iran likely cost him re-election.
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All five living presidents He was expected to attend his funeral Thursday morning, where outgoing President Joe Biden was scheduled to deliver a eulogy.
Fox News' Sarah Rumpf-Whitten contributed to this report.
