US Capitol Police have arrested a 16th person this year for illegally carrying a gun on or near the Capitol, reports say.
A large number of gun-related arrests have happened at the Capitol since the attack on the US Capitol on the 6 January, CBS News reported, by obtaining a series of police reports.
Most recently, police stopped a female driver with an unregistered gun and ammunition in the car near the Senate on Wednesday night, according to the official police report.
The woman, identified as 58-year-old Kery Lynn McAttee, allegedly stopped in a “No Parking” zone in front of US Capitol Police headquarters before approaching police to offer them information she said she had on the insurrection.
“One of our Agents spotted a gun case and the butt of a long gun in the Silverado. McAttee confirmed there were firearms in her vehicle,” police confirmed in the report.
Police have not yet proed the details of the conversation with the woman, as it is now part of an open investigation.
“There is no eence the 58-year-old suspect was coming here to do anything, except speak with our officers,” stated the report.
The woman is charged with unlawful possession of a weapon, possession of unregistered ammunition, unlawful possession/transportation of a semi-automatic rifle, and unlawful possession of a firearm misdemeanour. She is due to appear in court on Friday afternoon.
Guns and weapons are prohibited on US Capitol Grounds. A number of people who stormed the US Capitol on 6 January 2020 were carrying weapons. Open carry firearms are illegal in Washington DC, and all concealed weapons must be registered in the District. Possession of ammunition is illegal without a registered firearm.
Hundreds face charges over their part in the Capitol riots in which a crowd, descended on the meeting place of the United States Congress. Congress was forced to halt counting the votes in the 2020 election.
President Biden has since said the storming of the Capitol was an attempt to undo American democracy. On the anniversary of the riot the president directed a speech at Donald Trump: “For the first time in our history, a president had not just lost an election. He tried to prevent the peaceful transfer of power as a violent mob reached the Capitol,” he said.
