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Man With Assault Weapon Arrested Inside Trump Hotel In Washington

Man With Assault Weapon Arrested Inside Trump Hotel In Washington
Joshua Roberts / Reuters
Joshua Roberts / Reuters

A man staying at Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., was arrested in his hotel room Wednesday after police found an assault-style rifle, Glock handgun and ammunition inside his car, authorities said.

Police arrested Bryan Moles, 43, of Edinboro, Pennsylvania, for carrying a pistol without a license and possession of unregistered ammunition, Metropolitan Police Chief Peter Newsham told reporters at a press conference.

Newsham said the Pennsylvania State Police Department alerted the MPD around 12:30 a.m. that an adult male was possibly traveling to the hotel “armed with weapons.”

The PSPD provided the MPD, as well as the U.S. Secret Service, with the suspect’s name and a description of his vehicle based on a tip they received.

After arriving on the scene, police located Moles’ car in the hotel’s parking garage and recovered a Glock 23 pistol, Carbon Bushmaster assault-style rifle and 90 rounds of ammunition. They found one of the firearms in plain view inside Moles’ car and another inside the the glove box.

Moles, who had checked into the hotel around 1 a.m., was then arrested without incident, Newsham said.

“I was very concerned about this circumstance ― a very peculiar circumstance,” Newsham said. “I believe that the officers and our federal partners and, in particular, the tipster coming forward averted a potential disaster here in our nation’s capital.”

Previous media reports suggested Moles had made “threatening remarks,” but Newsham said police do not have enough information at this time to charge him with making threats.

The Secret Service said in a statement that it had received a report of a “potential threat” against people protected by the agency. After investigating the report with the MPD, the Secret Service said at no time were their protectees at risk.

Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser called the incident “disturbing” and praised the MPD, Secret Service and PSPD for their quick response.

“Today’s incident is an important reminder that when you see something it’s important to say something to an official,” Bowser told reporters.

Patricia Tang, the hotel’s director of sales and marketing, said authorities arrested “a guest who was behaving suspiciously” but would not provide additional details, citing the ongoing investigation.

“We take the safety and security of guests very seriously,” Tang said in a statement to HuffPost. “It is our first priority.”

Read the MPD’s public incident report below:

This is a developing story and has been updated throughout.