Man held with 500 rounds of ammunition near Capitol Hill, 50 US states gear up for armed protests

Gulf Today Report

Ten days after rioters breached the US Capitol in a deadly attack that stunned the world, the FBI warned police agencies of possible armed demonstrations outside all 50 state capitol buildings starting from Saturday till President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration on Jan. 20.

Cities nationwide were girding for a potential new wave of violent protests over the weekend, erecting barriers and deploying thousands of National Guard troops.

On Friday night, police arrested a Virginia man at a security checkpoint near Capitol Hill where he tried to use an "unauthorised" credential to access the restricted area where Biden will be inaugurated. The man had a loaded handgun and more than 500 rounds of ammunition, authorities said.

US President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting. File photo

Wesley Allen Beeler, of Virginia, had driven to a checkpoint on Friday evening and tried to use a phony credential to access the restricted area where President-elect Joe Biden will be inaugurated this week, according to a document filed in Washington, DC Superior Court, reports AFP.

As officers checked against an authorised access list, one of them noticed decals on the back of Beeler's pick-up truck that said "Assault Life," with an image of a rifle, and another with the message: "If they come for your guns, give 'em your bullets first."

Under questioning, Beeler told officers he had a Glock handgun in the vehicle. A search uncovered a loaded handgun, more than 500 rounds of ammunition, shotgun shells and a magazine for the gun, the court document said.

Beeler was arrested on charges including possession of an unregistered firearm and unlawful possession of ammunition, a police report said.
Following his arrest, Beeler said it was "an honest mistake" and that he was a private security guard who got lost on his way to work near the Capitol.

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Michigan, Virginia, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Washington were among more than a dozen states that activated their National Guards to strengthen security. Meanwhile, downtown Washington, D.C., was virtually empty, with streets near the Capitol closed and battalions of camouflaged National Guard soldiers taking up positions across the city centre.

Joe Biden waves as he leaves St. Joseph on the Brandywine Roman Catholic Church in Wilmington, Delaware. AFP

The opening salvo would herald a 10-day blitz of executive actions as Biden seeks to act swiftly to redirect the country in the wake of Donald Trump's presidency without waiting for Congress.

Incoming Biden chief of staff Ron Klain said in a memo to new White House senior staff that the executive orders would address the pandemic, the ailing US economy, climate change and racial injustice in America.

"All of these crises demand urgent action," Klain said in the memo.

"In his first ten days in office, President-elect Biden will take decisive action to address these four crises, prevent other urgent and irreversible harms, and restore America's place in the world," Klain added.

President Donald Trump's supporters stormed the Capitol on January 6. File photo

The nationwide security scramble followed the deadly Jan. 6 attack on the US Capitol by a mix of extremists and Trump supporters, some of whom called for the death of Vice President Mike Pence as he presided over the certification of Biden's election victory.

The Democratic leaders of four US congressional committees said on Saturday they had opened a review of the events and had written to the FBI and other intelligence and security agencies asking what was known about threats, whether the information was shared and whether foreign influence played any role.

500 rounds of ammunition

Meanwhile, Washington was under a state of high alert after the January 6 incident. The assault left five people dead, including a police officer.

National Guard soldiers outside the US Capitol in Washington on Saturday. Jacquelyn Martin/AP

Thousands of National Guard troops have been deployed in Washington and streets have been blocked off downtown with concrete barriers.