United States Capitol Police have identified the man arrested Wednesday after allegedly trying to light a car on fire while President-elect Donald Trump was paying his respects to former President Jimmy Carter, who was lying in state at the Capitol Rotunda in Washington, D.C.
Virginia man Adrian J. Hinton, 35, is the suspect, police announced on X Thursday morning.
He faces charges of unlawful activities after allegedly putting a flaming bag on top of a car near the Grant Memorial at around 5:30 p.m.
The bag burned out without igniting anything else, authorities said.
CAPITOL POLICE ARREST MAN ATTEMPTING TO SET HIS CAR ON FIRE AMID TRUMP DC VISIT WITH GOP SENATORS
US Capitol Building surrounded by fence in preparation for Jan. 6, 2025. (Fox News Digital)
It was packed with accelerants and Hinton’s vehicle had been spray-painted, according to Capitol Police.
Hinton’s arrest was one of two threatening incidents at the Capitol Wednesday, when Trump, lawmakers and thousands of Americans lined up to pay their respects to Carter.
Police also apprehended a man who, about three hours earlier, allegedly arrived at the Capitol with an array of knives, including a machete that he tried to get through a security checkpoint with an X-ray machine at the Capitol Visitor Center.
Mel J. Horne, 44, faces multiple counts of carrying a dangerous weapon.
POLICE ARREST MAN AFTER ATTEMPTING TO CARRY MACHETE, 3 KNIVES INTO US CAPITOL, HOURS BEFORE TRUMP ARRIVES
The U.S. Capitol Police stopped a man from entering the Capitol at a security checkpoint, after he was found to allegedly have a machete and three knives in his bag. (U.S. Capitol Police)
Capitol Police said they did not believe the two incidents were connected. Neither arrest interrupted the service for Carter.
“Twice today our officers stopped a man who could have been a danger to the Capitol Hill community,” U.S. Capitol Police Chief J. Thomas Manger said in a statement. “This vigilance is critical during this time of heightened security.”
Carter was scheduled to lie in state from 7:30 p.m. Tuesday until 7 a.m. Thursday.
A Scout troop salutes as they pay their respects in front of the flag-draped casket at the Lying in State Ceremony for former President Jimmy Carter at the US Capitol Rotunda in Washington, DC on Jan. 8, 2025. Carter, the 39th President of the United States, died at the age of 100 on Dec. 29, 2024 at his home in Plains, Georgia. (SAMUEL CORUM/AFP via Getty Images)
The former president, who was the 39th man to hold the office, died on Dec. 29 at the age of 100.
Carter, a Democrat, was a devout Christian who served in the Navy and was also the governor of Georgia before his White House election.
His signature achievement may have been the Camp David Accords, which sought to stabilize the Middle East with a deal involving Israel and Egypt. But a struggling economy and his inability to resolve the Iran hostage crisis likely cost him re-election.
All five living presidents were expected to attend his funeral Thursday morning, where outgoing President Joe Biden was set to deliver a eulogy.
Fox News’ Sarah Rumpf-Whitten contributed to this report.
https://www.foxnews.com/us/suspect-identified-scare-moments-before-trump-paid-respects-jimmy-carter
