U.S. Capitol Police arrested a man at a security checkpoint near the Capitol on Friday night who was in possession of two pistols.

Tyrone Turner / DCist

At least three people have been arrested at security checkpoints around the District, as the National Guard, U.S. Capitol Police and D.C. Police secure the areas surrounding inauguration next week. Several streets and bridges are closed amid heightened security ahead of the inauguration, following the deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on January 6.

The U.S. Capitol Police arrested a woman on Saturday morning after she claimed she was law enforcement and fled the police.

According to a D.C. Police report, the woman was stopped at a checkpoint at First Street and Columbus Circle NE around 8:45 a.m. and said she was an officer and “part of the presidential cabinet.” The woman, whose name was not released, showed a Military Challenge Coin — a medallion that military commanders give out to personnel as signs of achievement. Police records say officers asked her to put her car in park three times and turn the car off. The woman reportedly fled the scene when an officer asked to see her license. She was later arrested and charged with impersonating law enforcement, failing to obey an officer and fleeing law enforcement. The woman was taken for psychiatric evaluation and was later transferred to the D.C. Central Cell block.

This wasn’t the first arrest amid heightened security in D.C. Another man was arrested early Saturday morning around Massachusetts Ave. NE after officers saw a “clearly visible” firearm in a holster, according a Metropolitan Police Department report. Police say 22-year-old Guy Berry of Gordonsville, Va., had three high-capacity magazines, 37 rounds of unregistered ammunition and a Glock 22 firearm. Berry was arrested for carrying a pistol without a license, possession of a large capacity ammunition feeding device and unregistered ammunition, per the police report.

On Friday night, a Virginia man was arrested at a security checkpoint near the Capitol. Court records say he attempted to gain access using unauthorized credentials and was in possession of at least one firearm.

Wesley Allen Beeler of Warren County, Va., was arrested by U.S. Capitol Police around 6:30 p.m. after pulling up to a security checkpoint at North Capitol Street and E Street NW, according to an affidavit filed in D.C. Superior Court. He was found to be in possession of a loaded Glock handgun, 509 rounds of ammunition, shotgun shells, and a high-capacity magazine, according to court records. (An MPD report filed for the incident states that Beeler was in possession of two Glocks.)

Beeler was arrested on unregistered firearm and ammunition charges, and possession of a large capacity ammunition feeding device. He was released on Saturday and given orders to stay out of D.C. until his trial.

Beeler told the Washington Post that he is a private security guard and was not attempting to sneak past a check point, but was on his way to work in downtown D.C. He told the Post he forgot he had his gun, which he said is licensed in Virginia, in his car and was lost in D.C. In a statement to DCist, a spokesperson for the Capitol Police referred to the credentials as a “non-government issued credential.”

A federal law enforcement official also told the New York Times that Beeler is a contractor and the credentials were not fake.

The affidavit states that Beeler presented unauthorized inauguration credentials to a Capitol Police officer at the checkpoint. Another officer observed firearm-related decals on Beeler’s vehicle, and asked if there was “anything in the vehicle that would harm the officers.” Beeler replied that he had a Glock under the center armrest, according to the affidavit. Police then searched the vehicle and recovered the remaining ammunition, according to the affidavit.

A wide security perimeter has been set up around the Capitol following the deadly insurrection led by supporters of President Donald Trump on January 6. Law enforcement agencies have been monitoring continued threats from the far right for the days surrounding Wednesday’s Inauguration.

This story was updated with additional information from court documents, a statement from Capitol Police, and more information on the arrests made at the checkpoints.

Filed Under: capitol insurrection, inauguration 2021,