The US Capitol Police arrested a man Wednesday after he allegedly attempted to set his car on fire near the Capitol as President-elect Donald Trump was visiting Republican lawmakers and paying his respects to late former President Jimmy Carter.
The disturbing incident unfolded in front of the Ulysses S. Grant Memorial just before 5:30 p.m. – at the same time Trump, 78, was arriving at the Capitol Building.
Officers were alerted to a man who had parked in front of the memorial before setting a bag on top of his vehicle ablaze, Capitol Police said.
The bag “extinguished on its own” as officers rushed over to the car and placed the man under arrest.
Capitol Police’s Hazardous Incident Response Division inspected the vehicle and determined that it was not a danger by 7 p.m.
Authorities said the car had been spray-painted and investigators found accelerants inside the bag.
The driver of the car, an unidentified 35-year-old Virginia man, was arrested for unlawful activities, according to Capitol Police.
The man’s motive has not been determined but police said there was not an ongoing threat.
The Daily Wire reported that the man was first spotted by a grounds crew worker, who saw him trying to light something on fire in his car.
The man reportedly told the worker: “I have napalm and I’m trying to light it on fire.”
The incident came just hours after Capitol Police arrested 44-year-old Mel J. Horne for allegedly trying to sneak a machete and three knives into the US Capitol Visitor Center.
The weapons were discovered by officers operating an X-ray scanner at the entrance to the legislative complex.
Horne was charged with multiple counts of carrying a dangerous weapon.
Capitol Police indicated that they do not believe the two incidents are connected.
“Twice today our officers stopped a man who could have been 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,” he added.
Trump is set to be inaugurated as the 47th president of the United States on Jan. 20.
