Capitol Police Arrest Man In 'Suspicious Vehicle' Outside Supreme Court

WASHINGTON, DC — The U.S. Capitol Police arrested a Michigan man late Tuesday morning who had parked a "suspicious vehicle" in front of the Supreme Court.

When police spotted the vehicle at around 9:30 a.m., they instructed the public to stay away from the area along First Street NE.

Shortly after 11 a.m., the Capitol Police deployed officers who "extracted the man from the SUV" and took him into custody, the Capitol Police said in a news release.

The Capitol Police said the man had illegally parked in front of the Supreme Court and refused to leave. In August, the same man came to the Capitol complex and made "concerning statements," the police said.

The man, who the Capitol Police identified as 55-year-old Dale Paul Melvin of Kimball, Michigan, was charged with failure to obey and assault on a police officer.

At about 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, Capitol Police officers saw Melvin’s illegally parked Chevy Tahoe in front of the Supreme Court. The suspect appeared to be frustrated, refused to talk to our officers, and said, “The time for talking is done,” according to the police.

Officers cleared the area out of an abundance of caution. Capitol crisis negotiation officers tried to speak with Melvin, but he refused to talk. At about 11 a.m., a Capitol Police Containment and Emergency Response Team, which is similar to a SWAT team, pulled the man from the SUV, the police said.

According to NBC News, police officers threw a flashbang at Melvin’s SUV before he was taken into custody. The Capitol Police sent a message to Congressional staff alerting them to the controlled explosion before it happened, New York Times congressional reporter Emily Cochrane tweeted.

The incident follows a series of threats to the Capitol complex. Last month, Capitol Police arrested a man carrying a bayonet and machete in a truck with white supremacist symbols near the Democratic National Committee headquarters near the Capitol.

In August, a 49-year-old North Carolina man, who claimed to be carrying a bomb in a pickup truck parked near the U.S. Capitol, surrendered to police after an hours-long standoff that prompted an evacuation of parts of the government complex.

In April, a U.S. Capitol Police officer was killed and another hospitalized after a man rammed a car into a security barrier near the U.S. Capitol building on Friday.

On Jan. 6, a huge mob of supporters of former President Donald Trump attacked the Capitol.

The suspicious vehicle caused no disruptions to operations at the Supreme Court. Oral arguments began as planned at 10 a.m. The Supreme Court building remains closed to the public.