The Washington Examiner has reported that an 80-year-old man was taken into custody this week after authorities discovered a van that contained weapons near the Supreme Court.
According to the Examiner, officers belonging to the U.S. Capitol Police investigated a suspicious van at 3:45 on Wednesday after noticing that it was parked illegally along the 100 block of East Capitol Street.
Two handguns and a shotgun found in vehicle
A statement put out by the U.S. Capitol Police explained that officers found three people in the vehicle along with two handguns and a shotgun.
“A pipe and containers were also found in the van, so the USCP Hazardous Incident Response Division did a thorough search and cleared the van,” the statement noted.
“The individuals told our investigators they were here to deliver documents to the U.S. Supreme Court,” the press release went on to add.
The vehicle’s driver was identified as Tony Payne, who is a resident of Tunnel Hill, Georgia. Payne has been charged with possession of unregistered firearms and unregistered ammunition as well as carrying a pistol without a license.
He has also been charged under 40 U.S. Code § 5104 for bringing weapons to the Capitol Grounds. The two other individuals were released without charges after being briefly detained.
Threats against conservative justices have gone up following abortion case
The Supreme Court has faced increased security risks since it ruled earlier this year that there is no constitutionally protected right to abortion.
Angry mobs regularly appeared outside the homes of conservative justices over the summer and Justice Brett Kavanaugh was at one point forced to flee from a restaurant, a fact which some leftists celebrated online.
We hear Kavanaugh snuck out the back with his security detail. @mortons should be ashamed for welcoming a man who so clearly hates women.
— ShutDownDC (@ShutDown_DC) July 7, 2022
What’s more, a California man told police in June that he had planned to kill Kavanaugh after being arrested outside the justice’s home.
Fox News reported that Nicholas Roske texted his sister shortly after arriving at Kavanaugh’s home. He was found to have had a gun, ammunition, a knife, pepper spray, a screwdriver, and zip ties in his possession.