(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) A man was arrested and charged with weapon-related offenses after federal law enforcement officers spotted a guillotine in the bed of his pickup truck near the U.S. Capitol and the Supreme Court.
U.S. Capitol Police said in a press release that the man, Philan-Tam-Duy Le, had traveled from California to Washington, D.C., for unknown reasons before his arrest on Tuesday.
The 35-year-old suspect was initially booked on a charge of carrying a dangerous weapon in connection with the guillotine.
Federal prosecutors in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia later downgraded the charge to attempted possession of a prohibited weapon, a federal misdemeanor, according to The Washington Post.
This afternoon our officers seized a guillotine, which they spotted in the bed of a pickup truck along the 100 block of East Capitol Street.
You can learn more about the arrest here: https://t.co/JibVXWBj8j pic.twitter.com/orxccDAyZc
— The U.S. Capitol Police (@CapitolPolice) August 25, 2026
USCP said in a press release that it seized the guillotine near the 100 block of East Capitol Street after 3 p.m. Tuesday. Le’s truck was also reportedly “illegally parked.”
U.S. Judge Robert Hildum declined prosecutors’ demand to keep Le detained in federal prison, saying that he “didn’t even threaten anyone.”
“He was completely cooperative,” Hildum added, as quoted by the Post. “He didn’t flee, he didn’t do anything other than speak to the police officers.”
Le reportedly told federal law enforcement that he did not have an issue with any lawmaker and did not travel to the Capitol for any particular reason.
His next court hearing is reportedly scheduled for September.
The incident comes amid heightened concerns over political violence in the United States, following the 2024 assassination attempt against President Donald Trump at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Trump escaped a second assassination attempt on Sept. 15, 2024, when an armed man was spotted near Trump’s golf course in West Palm Beach, Florida.
Charlie Kirk, a young conservative leader and staunch Trump ally, was assassinated at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10, 2025.
