Armed man arrested at Capitol says incident is an 'honest mistake'

A heavily armed man who was arrested after trying to enter a Washington, D. C. security checkpoint with 'false' credentials, has claimed he is not a criminal and that the incident is a major misunderstanding.

Wesley Allen Beeler, 31, from Front Royal, Virginia was arrested by Capitol Police Friday evening as he tried to make his way through a restricted area in downtown DC that has been blocked off ahead of Joe Biden's inauguration.

Court documents say Beeler had approached the checkpoint on North Capitol and E Street NE around 6.30pm and presented cops with an invalid inauguration credential.

Officers later found a loaded pistol and more than 500 rounds of ammunition inside his vehicle. He was arrested on charges including possession of an unregistered firearm and unlawful possession of ammunition, according to a police report.

Beeler spoke out following his release on Saturday, claiming the situation was an 'honest mistake' and said he had been running late to his job as a security guard in the area.

'I pulled up to a checkpoint after getting lost in DC because I'm a country boy,' he told the Washington Post in a 'tear-filled' interview. 'I showed them the inauguration badge that was given to me.'

His brother Clint Beeler also backed his story, telling DailyMail.com he believes there has been 'a major misunderstanding.'

'I believe someone forgot to put him in the system to be authorized in. He gave them the badge that was given to him. How can it be "false credentials", when it was what they gave him?' he added.

Police in a statement on Saturday said Beeler had turned over a 'non-government issued' credential and wasn't authorized to enter the area.

Beeler told the Post he had been hired by security firm MVP Protective Services to guard 'media equipment' near 7th and Constitution and had previously accessed the area with his badge.

He said he had worked other security jobs in the area in the past as well. A spokesperson for Allied Universal Security Services confirmed this in a statement to the paper.

Beeler explained he had driven up from Virginia, where he is licensed to carry, in his Ford F-150 and had forgotten to remove his weapons before leaving to work. He admitted to being armed with a loaded gun and shotgun shells but denied he was carrying 500 ammo rounds as police claimed.

'It was just me forgetting to take it out of my truck before I left for work. I don't know what the D. C. laws are. It still comes back on me, but I'm not a criminal,' Beeler added. 'I don't want my kids to think I'm a bad person.'

The close call comes just one week after the Capitol became the site of a violent siege that left five dead.

Unprecedented levels of protection have been set up around the Capitol in the wake of the attack to prevent a possible invasion on inauguration day.

According to documents, police officers had been checking Beeler's credentials against the aut... (Read more)

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