An armed Massachusetts man was apprehended by Capitol Police near the Library of Congress after taking a tour of the Capitol the day following the inauguration, authorities revealed.
James Faber, 27, was promptly arrested Tuesday after authorities found a 9mm handgun “concealed in his waistband,” according to Capitol Police.
They found him while responding to reports of a man with “mental health issues and suicidal thoughts.”
The 27-year-old had been allowed into the Capitol Visitor Center about an hour prior to being detained, despite magnetometers sounding and an officer conducting a hand search when he went through security.
The officer who searched him has been suspended pending an investigation.
“Thankfully nobody was hurt. The USCP demands the highest standards when it comes to screening visitors, so a full review of this incident has already been ordered, as well as mandatory refresher training on security screening, so this never happens again,” Capitol Police said in a statement.
Faber was arrested on charges of carrying a pistol without a license, resisting arrest, possession of an unregistered firearm and unlawful possession of ammunition.
Before the incident, the Secret Service and Washington, DC, Metropolitan police interviewed a man in a hotel over suicidal posts on social media in which he talked about traveling to the nation’s capital, ABC News reported.
Authorities conducted a search of him but didn’t find a weapon on him and stood down, the report said.
Police said Faber had entered the Capitol complex via the south checkpoint into the visitor’s center around 1:15 pm ET and took a tour.
About an hour later, he emerged outside the Library of Congress and was walking towards his car at the time when he was intercepted, per Capitol Police.
Capitol Police had issued a lookout for him while he was inside the premises.
The case is being investigated by the US Attorney’s Office.
Strangely, another man with that same name had been arrested in Illinois back in July.
James A. Faber, 51, of Chicago, was arrested over his possession of loaded firearms and impersonation of a peace officer.
He had been apprehended after claiming to be part of President Trump’s security detail at the Republican National Convention, per the Lake & McHenry County Scanner.
