Capitol Police remove man from suspicious vehicle outside Supreme Court

 

 

NOW: We are investigating a suspicious vehicle in front of the Supreme Court along First Street, NE. Please stay away from the area. We will provide more information as soon as we can. pic.twitter.com/j129pfKIMG

— U.S. Capitol Police (@CapitolPolice) October 5, 2021

 

About an hour later, the Capitol Police said in a statement that it had “extracted” a man from the SUV parked in front the Supreme Court.

The suspect, identified as Dale Paul Melvin, 55, of Kimball, Mich., has been arrested on suspicion of failure to obey and assault on a police officer.

A statement from the Capitol Police later Tuesday said that the suspect previously came to the Capitol complex in August “and made concerning statements.” 

 

Bell said no weapons were found in the vehicle and that the suspect’s motive has not yet been established.

A Facebook profile matching the suspect’s name, birthdate and place of residence includes some past posts that are critical of Democrats and express support for conservative positions.

One post, for example, shares a meme of former President Clinton with the words: “I chose other women over Hillary” and “you should too.”

Another Facebook post shares a list from a conservative comedian that reads, “Here is all I want”: “Obama: Gone! Borders: Closed! Language: English! Culture: U.S. Constitution & the Bill of Rights! Drug Free: Mandatory Drug Screening Before Welfare! No Freebies To: Non-Citizens!”
 

Tuesday’s incident comes less than two months after a North Carolina man parked his car on the sidewalk in front of the Library of Congress — which is also a short walk from the U.S. Capitol and the Supreme Court — and claimed he had a bomb. 

That Aug. 19 security threat resulted in a tense five-hour standoff before the suspect finally surrendered to law enforcement.

The suspect claiming to have a bomb in the August vehicle incident also posted a livestream to Facebook during the standoff, in which he declared that “the revolution is on” while assailing President Biden and other Democrats.

Capitol Hill has been on high alert since the Jan. 6 insurrection, when a violent mob of former President Trump’s supporters stormed the Capitol in an attempt to stop Congress from ratifying the election results. 

The Capitol Police has had to respond to numerous security incidents since then over the course of a year in which threats against members of Congress are at an all-time high. 

In April, a man rammed his car into a security barricade on the Senate side of the Capitol, killing a Capitol Police officer and injuring another.

 

And last month, the fence erected around the Capitol the day after Jan. 6 briefly went back up in anticipation of a Sept. 18 rally to protest the treatment of people charged with crimes related to the attack on the Capitol. 

 

The rally ultimately drew only a relatively small crowd that was dwarfed by the law enforcement and media presence.