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Who is Donald Craighead? Capitol cops arrest man with machete near DNC headquarters

US Capitol Police reported that the man, identified as Donald Craighead, 44, was booked on suspicion of possession of prohibited weapons

The Capitol police arrested a California man with a bayonet and machete near Democratic National Committee headquarters in Washington, authorities said Monday, September 13. US Capitol police reported that the man, identified as Donald Craighead, 44, was booked on suspicion of possession of prohibited weapons. The arrest was made in the early hours of Monday, September 13 morning.

According to a press release from USCP, the suspect's Dodge Dakota pickup truck had a photo of an American flag in place of a license plate and a swastika and other white supremacists symbols painted on it. Officers pulled over the truck along the 500 block of South Capitol Street, SW, and found a bayonet and machete inside the truck, both of which items are are illegal in the nation’s capital. Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger said in a statement, "This is good police work plain and simple. We applaud the officers’ keen observation and the teamwork that resulted in this arrest."

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Craighead allegedly told police he was “on patrol” and talked about "white supremacist ideology and other rhetoric pertaining to white supremacy". As of now, the suspect is still being investigated by the USCP Investigations Division. It was not immediately if Craighead had hired, or been assigned, an attorney yet. The USCP said in a statement that 'it is unclear if Craighead was planning to attend any upcoming demonstrations in the area or if has any ties to previous demonstrations in Washington DC'. No other information about the suspect was immediately available.

Craighead's arrest comes ahead of a rally that is expected to feature right-wing extremists, set to take place on September 18. The Capitol police have warned about potential violence ahead of the event and fencing is expected to be put back in place around the Capitol campus as precautionary steps in preparation for the event. The arrest follows another arrest made by the Capitol Police in late August of a man who threatened to detonate a bomb outside the Library of Congress. The man. however, was found not to be in possession of an explosive device.