San Diego Union-Tribune (Sunday)
U.S. CAPITOL POLICE MAKE ARREST AS SECURITY RAMPS UP
The U.S. Capitol Police arrested a man at a security checkpoint in Washington on Friday after he flashed what an officer described as an “unauthorized” inauguration credential and a search of his truck found an unregistered handgun and more than 500 rounds of ammunition, authorities said.
The arrest comes as Washington, D.C., and state capitals across the nation are preparing for potential protests in the days leading to President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration.
Law enforcement officials have tried to fortify Washington before Inauguration Day on Wednesday, when they fear that extremists emboldened by the attack on the Capitol by President Donald Trump’s supporters on Jan. 6 could seek to cause violence. A militarized “green zone” is being established downtown, National Guard members are flooding the city, and a metal fence has gone up around the Capitol grounds in advance of
the swearing-in.
A federal law enforcement official said that the man arrested in Washington, Wesley A. Beeler, 31, worked as a contractor, and that his credential was not fake, but was not recognized by the police officer. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the arrest.
Beeler’s father, Paul Beeler, said in an interview that his son was part of a security team working alongside the Capitol Police and the National Guard, and that his son must have simply left his personal gun in his truck. Wesley Beeler has an active private security license in Virginia and was approved to have a handgun, shotgun or patrol rifle while on assignments, according to a state website.
Wesley Beeler, of Front Royal, Va., had driven up to a security checkpoint less than half a mile from the Capitol grounds Friday evening and presented “an unauthorized inauguration credential,” according to a statement from a Capitol Police officer filed in a District of Columbia court Saturday. The officer, Roger Dupont, said that he had checked the credential against a list and found that it did not give Beeler authority to enter the restricted area.
A spokesperson for the Capitol Police later described the credential that Beeler had shown as “nongovernment issued.”
Officers searched his truck, which had several gun-related bumper stickers, and found a loaded Glock pistol, 509 rounds for the pistol and 21 shotgun shells, police said. Beeler had admitted having the Glock in the truck’s center console when he was asked if there were weapons in the car, they said.
Beeler was charged with five crimes, including possessing a weapon and ammunition in Washington without having it registered as required.
A judge ordered him released on personal recognizance and issued a stayaway order from the District.
“It was an honest mistake,” Beeler explained after being released. In a tearfilled interview, he said he has spent the last week working as hired security in downtown Washington ahead of the inauguration. He was running late to work and forgot that his firearm was in his truck when he left his home in Virginia, where he said he has a license to carry. He denied that he had more than 500 rounds of ammunition as listed in his arrest report.
Beeler said he recalls having only the loaded firearm and the shotgun shells in his vehicle.
“It was just me forgetting to take it out of my truck before I left for work. I don’t know what the D.C. laws are. It still comes back on me, but I’m not a criminal,” Beeler said.
“I pulled up to a checkpoint after getting lost in D.C. because I’m a country boy,” he said. “I showed them the inauguration badge that was given to me.”
Beeler said he was given a credential by his employer, MVP Protective Services. A man who answered a phone number connected with MVP protective services said, “Unfortunately, at this time I am not authorized to speak,” when reached by a reporter Saturday evening.
Beeler said he volunteered for a job in the District of Columbia after a friend let him know of an overnight job with MVP to guard media equipment located at 7th and Constitution. He said the credential he was given has previously been enough to enter that area.
He said he has had numerous security assignments in the past, including working as a corrections officer and providing security for a Saudi embassy property. A spokesman for Allied Universal Security Services confirmed that Beeler previously worked for a smaller security company it acquired.
Anxious officials across the United States have spent much of the week rushing to secure government buildings and fortify statehouses after an FBI bulletin warned that armed far-right extremist groups are planning to march on state capitals this weekend. Many states have boarded up windows, erected fencing, closed their capitols to the public, activated National Guard units and declared states of emergency.
In Texas, law enforcement was on high alert. Texas Department of Public Safety officers stood in riot gear on the closed Capitol grounds as armed demonstrators arrived on Saturday. The DPS on Friday evening closed the pink granite building and grounds, and all entrances remained chained and locked.
Around the Capitol in downtown Austin, some buildings on Congress Avenue were boarded up and parking was restricted.
On Saturday morning, people assembled weapons and other tactical gear in a parking lot across from the Capitol before walking across the street to the front gates. Some were dressed in camouflage vests, blue jeans and cowboy hats. Men in khaki pants and black shirts were also seen in tactical vests, carrying handguns, canisters, handheld radios and handcuffs.
In Columbus, Ohio, the statehouse was ringed Saturday morning with temporary metal fencing and signs reading “Security Line Do Not Cross.”
Its first floor windows were boarded up, and beneath its immense Doric columns, State Highway Patrol troopers walked the porticoes. They were brought in from across the state, and the building will be closed through Wednesday.
“We were horrified by what we saw take place in the Capitol last week,” Ohio Republican Gov. Mike Dewine said in authorizing the use of the National Guard this weekend. “Violence will not be tolerated.”
The siege mentality here isn’t without reason. On Jan. 6, the same day U.S. Capitol was breached, skirmishes broke out near the Ohio Statehouse between protrump demonstrators, including a group of Proud Boys and counterprotesters.
Officials generally won’t discuss exactly what “intelligence” they have, but Columbus police group said that they are aware that the “boogaloo bois,” the extremist group, have planned a noon protest today at the statehouse.
In California, National Guard troops were deployed throughout downtown Sacramento early Saturday.
Armed soldiers and armored Humvees were stationed around the state Capitol, as well as at the federal courthouse and state Superior Court building, according to the Sacramento Bee. Streets providing access to the entrance to the Sacramento County Main jail, a target of past demonstrations, have been blocked off with steel barriers.
The 1,000 members of the California National Guard activated on Thursday by Gov. Gavin Newsom added to an already robust response by law enforcement following FBI warnings that armed demonstrators may target statehouses in events similar to last week’s attack on the U.S. Capitol.
The insurrection in Washington was carried out by radicalized supporters of President Donald Trump, incited by unsubstantiated claims that widespread voter fraud cost him the November election.
“We’re treating this very seriously and deploying significant resources to protect public safety, critical infrastructure and 1st Amendment rights,” Newsom said in a statement. “But let me be clear. There will be no tolerance for violence.”