A man with a fake badge, BB gun, body armor, high-capacity magazines and other ammunition was arrested outside the U.S. Capitol Friday morning.
U.S. Capitol Police officers found the man, identified by police as 53-year-old Jerome Felipe of Flint, Mich., just before 5 a.m. Friday. A U.S. Capitol patrol officer started talking to the man, who had parked his Dodge Charger on the west side of the Capitol. Felipe, a retired police officer, presented officers with a fake badge that read “Department of the INTERPOL” on it, and claimed he was a criminal investigator with the agency, according to U.S. Capitol Police.
Capitol Police were given permission to search Felipe’s vehicle, where they found two ballistic vests, BB gun, magazines and other ammunition, although they did not find real guns. It’s unclear why he was parked near the Capitol.
Felipe faces charges for unlawful possession of high-capacity magazines and unregistered ammo, according to the U.S. Capitol Police.
According to a law enforcement source, Felipe appears to be transient and has been living out of his vehicle for the past few months. He said that he wanted to see the areas around the Capitol, according to the law enforcement source.
Felipe joins a number of other individuals who have been arrested for unlawful possession near the Capitol. Capitol Police records compiled and reviewed by CBS News in January show 16 arrests for firearms possession and two arrests for possession of BB guns near the Capitol in the months after the Capitol riot.
— CBS News’ Michael Kaplan and Scott MacFarlane contributed to this report
