Man Arrested With Body Armor, High-Capacity Ammo Outside U.S. Capitol

U.S. Capitol police (USCP) on Friday morning arrested a man who was found parked in a vehicle outside the Capitol with body armor, a fake badge, a BB gun and several high-capacity magazines, among other ammunition.

A patrol officer started talking with the man, identified as 53-year-old Jerome Felipe of Flint, Michigan, who was parked in his 2017 Dodge Charger near Peace Circle on the west side of the Capitol at about 5 a.m., the USCP said in a statement on its website.

Felipe presented the Capitol police officers with a fake badge that read "Department of the INTERPOL" and claimed that he is a criminal investigator with the agency.

Capitol police officers have been concerned about the security of the U.S. Capitol since January 6, 2021, when supporters of former President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol building in an effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election results.

The Michigan man, whom the USCP said is a retired police officer from New York, also had two ballistic vests in his car that were found by Capitol police who searched his vehicle. The USCP said that Felipe didn't have any other guns.

"Investigators are still working to determine the reason Felipe was parked near the U.S. Capitol," the USCP said in the statement, adding that he has been charged with unlawful possession of high capacity magazines and unregistered ammo.

In December, U.S. Capitol Police Sergeant Aquilino Gonell said that officers are worried about another potential attack on the Capitol. Gonell has protected the Capitol building and suffered injuries during the riot last year.

"A lot of the officers have in mind the possibility of this being a recurring annual or every-four-year thing, which is why officers like myself are being outspoken about it, because we don't want to go through this again," Gonell said during an NPR interview.

"We risked our lives to give them enough time to get to safety. And, allegedly, some of them were in communication with some of the rioters and with some of the coordinators or in the know of what would happen.

"And it makes you question their motives and their loyalty for the country, as we were battling the mob in a brutal battle where I could have lost my life and my dear fellow officers as well."

Earlier in December, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed a bill that would allow the USCP to ask for assistance without prior approval during emergencies. That means the chief of the Capitol police can solely request help from the D.C. National Guard or federal law enforcement agencies in emergencies without getting approval from the USCP board.

Newsweek reached out to the U.S. Capitol police for comment.