A man from Mississippi has been charged after police say he drove near the U.S. Capitol, with a gun on his lap, and asked an officer for directions the Supreme Court on Monday.
U.S. Capitol Police said 67-year-old Wendell Royster pulled up to the North Barricade entrance to the Capitol and stopped to talk to the officer just before 11:30 a.m.
That’s when the Capitol Police officer saw the handgun and ordered the driver to put his hands up. Officers surrounded the SUV and Royster was arrested within two minutes of approaching the barricade.
Weapons are not allowed on the Capitol grounds. Royster was driving a rented Ford Bronco at the time of his arrest and a dog was inside the SUV, according to a news release from police.
Royster has been charged with carrying a pistol without a license and permit.
“Royster was not on record with the USCP,” the police department wrote in a . “Currently, there does not appear to be a nexus to the Congress.”
The incident led to a significant police response and investigators initially asked people to avoid the area just off Constitution Avenue on the Senate side of the Capitol.
Police told Â鶹¹ÙÍø no one was hurt. Officers gave the dog food and water until animal control came to pick up the animal.
Â鶹¹ÙÍø’s Mitchell Miller contributed to this report.
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