Armed man to make court appearance Tuesday

A man charged with carrying dangerous weapons outside the Capitol is scheduled to appear in court Tuesday for a preliminary hearing.

An attorney from the public defender’s office has been appointed to represent Christopher Shelton Timmons, 27, of Orange, Va., for his appearance in the Superior Court for the District of Columbia. Timmons was arrested Friday by U.S. Capitol Police after a search of his vehicle allegedly revealed an AK-47 assault rifle, an improvised grenade, ammunition and several knives.

{mosads}Timmons has no serious prior convictions in Orange, according to an official at the Orange County Courthouse.

Capitol Police detained Timmons after he stopped the Jeep Cherokee he was driving at 2nd St. and Independence Ave. SE and asked a Capitol Police officer for directions to the Library of Congress.

According to court documents, the officer saw a rifle case inside the vehicle and asked Timmons if he had a rifle with him. Timmons said that he did and that he had it to help the police “with manpower.”

After being taken into custody, Timmons reportedly said that he had come to Washington to find books about a secret society.