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The tip received by police was vague, but potentially dire: a Pennsylvania physician was on his way to the nation's capital with a carload of weapons, planning to visit the president.
By "carload, they mean a rifle and pistol.
As a result, Bryan Moles, 43, of Edinboro, Pennsylvania, was arrested on weapons charges after checking in to the Trump International Hotel in Washington, a few blocks from the White House.
He is expected to make an initial court appearance Thursday afternoon.
While the Secret Service interviewed Moles and determined he posed no threat to the president or anyone else they protect, D.C.'s police chief said the tip averted a potential disaster.
"I was very concerned about this circumstance," Chief Peter Newsham said. When people come to the District "armed with those types of weapons, it's a serious concern. ... He doesn't have a really good reason for being here."
Moles was charged with carrying a pistol without a license and having unregistered ammunition. A police report said authorities seized a Glock 23 pistol, a Bushmaster assault-style rifle and 90 rounds of ammunition from Moles' vehicle.
Newsham added that the department does not presently have enough evidence to charge Moles with making threats.
Newsham declined to comment on what may have motivated Moles. He said he did not have a license to carry firearms in the District, which has strict gun laws. He did not know whether he was licensed to carry in Pennsylvania.
D.C. has carry permits?
The Secret Service said its agents and local police began investigating a potential threat. But Deputy Special Agent Michael Ball said the Secret Service had determined Moles "posed no threat" to any of the people the Secret Service protects, which includes presidents and vice presidents and their families, former presidents and visiting foreign dignitaries.
Moles' Facebook page is sprinkled with comments and photos indicating support for Trump. On Friday, he posted a question: "If you had to choose between a Hilton Hotel and a Trump hotel, which would you choose and why?" Someone replied, "Trump all the way. The dark side wants to disarm the public so they can ... just walk through any resistance to their fascist thought police." Moles liked the comment.
A longtime friend of Moles said "there is absolutely no way" he was planning violence. Lisa DellaRatta, a nurse practitioner in Florida, said she's known him for more than 25 years and used to live with him. She said Moles "cannot be a more standup man."
She said guns are prevalent in the rural area near Lake Erie where she and Moles grew up, and he's always owned them.
Something doesn't make sense about this story. OTOH, the SS claims he is no threat
to anyone the SS protects, but yet
they claim they have no idea why he brought the weapons and ammo there? Is there really anybody out there that is knowledgeable about firearms that doesn't know D.C. laws are strict? Could the guy have been planning a trip to the NRA range as part of his visit there?