Virginia man arrested for ‘trying to enter DC checkpoint with gun, ammunition and fake credentials’
Armed security guard, 31, arrested at Capitol checkpoint for ‘carrying 500 ammo rounds and fake Biden inauguration credentials’ insists his ID was REAL, says he was late for work and forgot to remove guns from his truck
- Wesley Allen Beeler, 31, from Front Royal, Virginia, was released Saturday following his arrest the night before
- He was charged with possession of an unregistered firearm and unlawful possession of ammunition after trying to enter a security checkpoint in downtown DC with ‘false’ credentials
- Beeler has claimed the incident was an ‘honest mistake’ and that he had forgotten to remove the firearms from his vehicle before driving to work from Virginia, where he is licensed to carry
- He told the Post he was working as a security guard in the area and presented cops with the inauguration badge he was given by his employer
- Police however alleged Beeler presented them with ‘non-government issued’ credentials that were not valid
- During the encounter, they also noticed decals on the back of his pick-up truck that said ‘Assault Life,’ with an image of a rifle
- When asked if he was armed, Beeler admitted to carrying a Glock semi-automatic pistol in his truck
- Cops later found the loaded gun, 509 rounds of ammunition, shotgun shells and a magazine, according to the report
- The security detail around the Capitol is unlike anything seen before amid concerns of violence on inauguration day
A heavily armed man who was arrested after trying to enter a Washington, D.C. security checkpoint with ‘false’ credentials, has claimed he is not a criminal and that the incident is a major misunderstanding.
Wesley Allen Beeler, 31, from Front Royal, Virginia was arrested by Capitol Police Friday evening as he tried to make his way through a restricted area in downtown DC that has been blocked off ahead of Joe Biden‘s inauguration.
Court documents say Beeler had approached the checkpoint on North Capitol and E Street NE around 6.30pm and presented cops with an invalid inauguration credential.
Officers later found a loaded pistol and more than 500 rounds of ammunition inside his vehicle. He was arrested on charges including possession of an unregistered firearm and unlawful possession of ammunition, according to a police report.
Beeler spoke out following his release on Saturday, claiming the situation was an ‘honest mistake’ and said he had been running late to his job as a security guard in the area.
‘I pulled up to a checkpoint after getting lost in DC because I’m a country boy,’ he told the Washington Post in a ‘tear-filled’ interview. ‘I showed them the inauguration badge that was given to me.’
Wesley Allen Beeler, 31, of Front Royal, Virginia, was charged with carrying a pistol without a license and unlawful possession of ammunition after being stopped at the checkpoint near the US Capitol on Friday
The father of four (pictured with his young children) has insisted he’s not a criminal and said he had forgotten to remove his firearms from his pick-up truck before driving in from Virginia, where he is licensed to carry
Police sid Beeler had approached a restricted area on North Capitol and E Street NE that has been blocked off ahead of Joe Biden’s inauguration, around 6.30pm and presented officers with ‘false inauguration credentials’
His brother Clint Beeler also backed his story, telling DailyMail.com he believes there has been ‘a major misunderstanding.’
‘I believe someone forgot to put him in the system to be authorized in. He gave them the badge that was given to him. How can it be “false credentials”, when it was what they gave him?’ he added.
Police in a statement on Saturday said Beeler had turned over a ‘non-government issued’ credential and wasn’t authorized to enter the area.
Beeler told the Post he had been hired by security firm MVP Protective Services to guard ‘media equipment’ near 7th and Constitution and had previously accessed the area with his badge.
He said he had worked other security jobs in the area in the past as well. A spokesperson for Allied Universal Security Services confirmed this in a statement to the paper.
Beeler explained he had driven up from Virginia, where he is licensed to carry, in his Ford F-150 and had forgotten to remove his weapons before leaving to work. He admitted to being armed with a loaded gun and shotgun shells but denied he was carrying 500 ammo rounds as police claimed.
‘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 added. ‘I don’t want my kids to think I’m a bad person.’
The close call comes just one week after the Capitol became the site of a violent siege that left five dead.
Beeler (pictured right with his wife Noelle) said he was hired by security firm MVP Protective Services to guard ‘media equipment’ near 7th and Constitution and had previously accessed the area with his badge
Court documents state police officers had been checking Beeler’s credentials against the authorized access list, when one noticed decals on the back of his pick-up truck that said ‘Assault Life,’ with an image of a rifle. Pictured: Members of Pennsylvania 112th Infantry Regiment National Guard checking a car at a road block on January 16
Unprecedented levels of protection have been set up around the Capitol in the wake of the attack to prevent a possible invasion on inauguration day.
According to documents, police officers had been checking Beeler’s credentials against the authorized access list, when one of them noticed decals on the back of his pick-up truck that said ‘Assault Life,’ with an image of a rifle.
There was also another with the message: ‘If they come for your guns, give ’em your bullets first.’
When asked if he was carrying any weapons, Beeler told officers he had a Glock handgun in in the armrest.
A search uncovered the loaded handgun, more than 500 rounds of ammunition, shotgun shells and a magazine for the gun, the court document said.
While Beeler and his family maintain he had no ill intentions, his wife acknowledged police officers’ actions were reasonable given recent events at the Capitol.
‘It’s understandable during these times. It does sound suspicious,’ Noelle Beeler told the Post.
She said the pair were in the process of trying to figure out how to explain the situation to their four young children.
The incident Capitol comes amid concerns of ‘major security threats’ at Biden’s inauguration on January 20.
Beeler reportedly drove his pick-up truck to a checkpoint at North Capitol and E Street NE close to the Capitol just after 6:30 p.m. Police cruisers near the Capitol Friday night
National Guard troops guard the US Capitol as fences and barbed wire are put up as security for the upcoming inauguration
Washington DC has gone into lockdown and several blocks around the Capitol have been cordoned off to prevent a repeat of the chaos seen on January 6 when Trump supporters stormed the seat of American democracy.
A Baghdad-style ‘Green Zone’ perimeter has been set up and more than 20,000 armed National Guard troops have been mobilized.
The Secret Service released its restricted access plan, which includes what the agency is calling a ‘Green Zone’ in the heart of DC.
This is the same name given to the heavily-fortified area in Baghdad during the Iraq War.
Most of downtown DC is now off-limits to traffic and has already drawn comparisons to Baghdad’s high-security zone.
Trump supporters storming the Capitol last week in a riot that left five dead
Trump supporters storming the Capitol on January 6 during the violent siege
Thousands of armed military members are patrolling the streets and anti-climb steel fences and road blocks continue to be installed in the wake of last week’s deadly siege.
The security detail is unlike anything seen in the run-up to any inauguration before and comes after the Capitol was breached on January 6 – the first time since the British invaded in 1814.
A violent mob stormed the Capitol, breaking through police barricades and smashing windows to enter the building where the Senate and House were certifying the Electoral College.
Lawmakers were forced to go into hiding for several hours as Capitol police grappled to take back control while the mob defecated in the Senate and House, invaded Nancy Pelosi’s office and looted items potentially including state secrets.
Five people were killed in the violent riot including a police officer who was hit over the head with a fire extinguisher by a rioter.
Law enforcement officials across the country have been working to locate and arrest suspects who committed federal crimes and so far have brought nearly 100 cases in federal court and the District of Columbia Superior Court.
Donald Trump was impeached for the second time this week after House lawmakers voted that he had ‘incited the riot’.
Washington DC has gone into lockdown and several blocks around the Capitol have been cordoned off to prevent a repeat of the chaos seen on January 6
