A third armed person was arrested at a checkpoint in Washington, D.C., where heightened security measures have been in place since the Jan. 6 insurrection by pro-Trump rioters at the U.S. Capitol. Guy Berry, 22, of Gordonsville, Virginia, was carrying three high-capacity magazines, 37 rounds of unregistered ammunition, and a Glock 22 firearm when he was arrested near the Capitol Sunday, police said, reports the Washington Post. Berry’s aunt told the Post she has been his primary caregiver and heard him share his pro-Trump viewpoints.
Berry’s aunt, who asked not to be named, said she knows her nephew was not at the Capitol on Jan. 6. He “always” carries a gun, she said, describing him as “one of those open-carry people.” His aunt said she disagreed with Berry’s political views. “I keep telling him Black men can’t walk around with guns on his hip, but he doesn’t believe me,” she said. She got a voicemail message from Berry on Sunday saying he was arrested but has not spoken to him since she said. According to the Post, Berry’s Facebook page included photos from the riot.
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Berry was walking on Massachusetts Avenue NE around 2:30 a.m. Sunday when he was arrested, reports ABC7. One of his weapons was “clearly visible in a holster,” police said. He was arrested for “carrying a pistol without a license and the possession of a large capacity ammunition feeding device and unregistered ammunition.” In Washington, D.C., it is against the law to openly carry a gun, carry ammunition without having a registered gun, and to carry a magazine that can hold over 10 rounds of ammunition, notes Vox.
Berry is the second Virginian arrested at one of the security checkpoints since the riot. On Friday, Wesley Beeler was arrested for carrying an unregistered Glock. He allegedly showed Capitol Police a fake inaugural credential. He later told the Washington Post he was a security contractor and made an “honest mistake” in a rush to get to work. He said he got lost and showed Capitol Police officers an “inauguration badge” given to him. “I don’t know what the DC laws are. It still comes back on me, but I’m not a criminal,” Beeler told the Post.
The third person arrested at one of the security checkpoints was Linda MaGovern, 63, of Stratford, Connecticut, reports NPR. She allegedly claimed to be a law enforcement officer and a member of the presidential Cabinet. Capitol Police officers said MaGovern was arrested for impersonating an officer and failing to obey and feeling from law enforcement. During the encounter, MaGovern allegedly showed an officer a “round metallic object later identified as a Military Police Challenge Coin.”
