A man was arrested on November 5, as the vote across the US is in full swing, at the US Capitol.
The US Capitol Police said in a statement on X: “Our officers just arrested a man who was stopped during our screening process at the Capitol Visitor Center (CVC). The man smelled like fuel, had a torch & a flare gun.
“The CVC is closed for tours for the day, while we investigate. We will provide more information when we can.”
According to Fox, the man was detained around 12:30pm EST (5:30pm GMT). The suspect, described as a white male in his late 20s, had reportedly driven all night from Michigan to the Capitol.
Fox also reported that the suspect had written a 25-page manifesto, which included anti-government and anti-Israel statements.
He allegedly intended to deliver this document to Congress. One senior source added that it’s unclear whether the man planned to “self-immolate”.
Capitol Police believe he was acting alone and had not been on their radar prior to the incident.
The arrest comes as millions of Americans head to the polls in what has been described as one of the most closely watched elections in recent years.
Democratic candidate Kamala Harris and Republican candidate Donald Trump are in a neck-and-neck race, particularly in key battleground states such as Pennsylvania, Michigan and Georgia.
The day has already seen plenty of disruptions at several polling sites across the country, with bomb threats reported in multiple locations.
In a statement, the FBI said: “The FBI is aware of bomb threats to polling locations in several states, many of which appear to originate from Russian email domains. None of the threats have been determined to be credible thus far.”
Nonetheless, in Jacksonville, Florida, a bomb squad was dispatched to the Beaver Street Enterprise Center after a “suspicious package” was discovered at a polling site.
Duval County Supervisor of Elections Jerry Holland told local media that voting would continue despite the threat, as the equipment was operating on battery power.
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger also reported that some of the threats appeared to be of Russian origin.
While many of these threats have been deemed non-credible, they have contributed to a tense atmosphere as Americans make their way to polling stations.
Trump, who cast his vote in Palm Beach, Florida, has also addressed concerns about potential violence from his supporters if he loses, saying: “I certainly don’t want any violence. Of course, there’ll be no violence; my supporters are not violent people.”
He added that he would accept the election results if the vote was “fair”.
As far as any results are concerned, polling analyst Nate Silver has predicted that the race is “closer than a coin flip,” with a slight edge for Harris.
