US Capitol Police arrest driver after clearing suspicious vehicle near Supreme Court

Tony Payne, of Tunnel Hill, Georgia, was charged with unlawful activities for bringing the weapons to Capitol grounds, US Capitol Police said in a statement Wednesday evening.

"Around 3:45 p.m., USCP officers noticed the van was illegally parked along the 100 block of East Capitol Street," USCP said in the statement. "The driver told us he had guns in the van. A K-9 also 'hit' on the vehicle."

Officers found two handguns and a shotgun inside a white van, police said. A pipe and containers were also found in the vehicle, according to the statement, so the USCP Hazardous Incident Response Division searched and cleared the van.

Weapons are banned from US Capitol grounds.

In addition to the driver, authorities detained a man and a woman during their search of the van. CNN, citing a source, earlier reported that the three were arrested on charges, but USCP said later Wednesday that the other man and woman who had been detained were not arrested in the incident.

"The individuals told our investigators they were here to deliver documents to the U.S. Supreme Court," the USCP statement said.

Earlier Wednesday, USCP had closed off several streets in the area of the US Supreme Court while responding what the agency called a "suspicious vehicle" and had cautioned people to "please stay away from the area."

This headline and story have been updated with additional reporting Wednesday.

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