A man who entered the U.S. Capitol with a handgun in his possession and took a tour of the building faces weapons charges, police said Thursday.
The 27-year-old Massachusetts man was arrested Tuesday after Capitol police officers found him leaving the Library of Congress and walking toward his car, police said in a news release. Officers found a handgun concealed in his waistband, police said.
Nobody was hurt, and the Capitol police said they found no evidence that the man �was coming to harm the Congress.�
A police officer who allowed the man into the Capitol after searching him has been suspended pending a department investigation.
Security video showed the man entering the Capitol through a security checkpoint. After magnetometers sounded, the officer performed a �secondary hand search� and then let him into the building, police said.
The Capitol police �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,� the department said.
The man was arrested on charges including carrying a pistol without a license, possession of an unregistered firearm, illegal possession of ammunition and resisting arrest.
House lawmakers whose committee oversees the Capitol police said they are �severely disappointed in the security failure� and will require the department to conduct �a robust review of all visitor screening practices.�
�We must ensure this never happens again,” said a joint statement from the House Administration committee’s chair, Rep. Bryan Steil, R-Wisconsin, and ranking member, Rep. Joe Morelle, D-New York.
(AP)