Bryan Moles of Edinboro, Pennsylvania, was taken into custody at the downtown hotel, where he was staying as a guest, police said. At a news conference, Metropolitan Police Department Chief Peter Newsham said his department, as well as the Secret Service, received a tip from the Pennsylvania State Police at about 12:30 a.M. The tipster reported that Moles was traveling to the Trump Hotel in Washington, armed with weapons and ammunition.
"I was very concerned about this circumstance," Newsham said, "and I believe the officers and our federal partners, and in particular the tipster, averted a potential disaster here in our nation's capital."
The Secret Service said in a statement that special agents from its Washington Field Office, as well as local police officers, began investigating potential threats made against people the agency protects, but at no time were they at risk. The statement didn't identify the people.
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A police report said authorities saw a firearm in Moles' vehicle and found another inside the glove compartment. Police seized a Glock 23 pistol, a Bushmaster assault-style rifle and 90 rounds of ammunition.
Newsham declined to comment on what may have motivated Moles.
The police chief said Moles is being interviewed, and is giving authorities information.
He is being charged with carrying a pistol without a license and having unregistered ammunition. Newsham added that the department does not presently have enough evidence to charge Moles with making threats, although a department spokesman earlier indicated that was part of the tip to Pennsylvania authorities.
Moles served in the US Navy from 1992 to 2006. He was a hospital corpsman, and was in the reserves in Erie for the last nine years of his service. He received several honors, including a Navy Reserve Meritorious Service Medal and a Pistol Marksmanship Ribbon.
Hotel spokeswoman Patricia Tang said in a statement that "authorities arrested a guest who was behaving suspiciously," but referred further questions to authorities.
Edinboro is about 100 miles north of Pittsburgh.