(FreedomBeacon.com)- Last Wednesday, US Capitol Police said three people were detained and one was arrested on weapons charges after spotting a suspicious vehicle near the US Supreme Court on Capitol Street in Washington, DC.
At around 3:45 pm on Wednesday, Capitol Police officers spotted the van illegally parked on East Capitol Street. After a K-9 unit got a “hit” on the vehicle, the driver told the officers he had guns in the van.
Capitol Police detained the driver, another man, and a woman while they searched the vehicle. They found a shotgun and two handguns inside.
The three individuals claimed that they were there to deliver documents to the Supreme Court.
During the search, officers found a pipe and containers, prompting them to call in the US Capitol Police Hazardous Incident Response Division which, after thoroughly searching the van, gave it the all-clear.
CNN reported that Capitol Police were concerned that there might have been explosives in the vehicle.
The driver of the vehicle, 80-year-old Tony H. Payne of Tunnel Hill, Georgia, was arrested and charged with carrying an unregistered firearm and unregistered ammunition and carrying a pistol without a license.
The other man and the woman, also from Georgia, were detained briefly but were not arrested.
Several roads around the Supreme Court were closed during the investigation. They later reopened Wednesday evening.
A 1967 law bans guns on Capitol grounds. While members of Congress are given an exception to carry weapons to and from their offices, firearms are banned from the floor of the House and Senate as well as other select locations including the cloakrooms and lobby adjacent.
