Man arrested trying to enter US Capitol with torch and flare gun, police say
A man has been arrested after he was found to be carrying weapons while attempting to enter the Capitol Visitor Centre in Washington DC.
Police stopped the man during the security screening process after smelling fuel on him.
He was searched and authorities found a flare fun and torch on him.
Public tours have since been cancelled for the remainder of the day, as police investigate the incident.
The arrest comes as authorities are on heightened alert for security issues around the nation's capital and have increased patrols in areas downtown and near the White House around Election Day.
Businesses and shops continue to be boarded up and federal agencies work together to prevent any sort of violence, just four years after a group of Trump supporters attacked the US Capitol.
"In Washington, you probably can't swing a dead cat without hitting a law enforcement official of some sort as you're walking the streets," former Pentagon operative and White House adviser Tony Shaffer told Today.
"This is a big deal. That's why you're seeing this all-hands-on-deck federal effort to secure the city for whatever the outcome is."
LIVE UPDATES: Rolling coverage of the 2024 US election
Multiple bomb threats have been made in both Georgia and Flordia. Nine
It comes as bomb threats have been made to several states, prompting the brief closure of two polling places in Fulton County, Georgia.
The Associated Press reports that Georgia secretary of state Brad Raffensperger said the state's election process had snuffed out some bomb threats that he said came from Russia.
Officials in Fulton County, Georgia, said they received "multiple calls".
Officials continue to warn of what they say is an unprecedented level of foreign influence and disinformation that they expect will persist beyond Election Day.
Share a tip-off, video or photo with us
