Woman with 'letter to Joe Biden' nabbed near WH after loaded gun found in car, cops say no threat to president
A woman and a man have been arrested by the Secret Service near the White House after they reportedly said that they had a delivery for President Joe Biden - a handwritten letter. But reports also said that she carried a loaded gun in her car.
On Saturday, February 13, evening, 66-year-old Sylvia Hall reportedly drove toward a checkpoint in downtown DC, close to the White House, according to the Metropolitan Police Department and the Secret Service. She was apparently with a man and told cops they were there to meet the president. She was charged with carrying a pistol without a license, possession of an unregistered firearm and possession of unregistered ammunition in Saturday’s incident, according to local outlet WRC-TV.
READ MORE
Who is Guy Berry? Armed pro-Trump Virginia man arrested near Capitol with firearm, 37 rounds of ammo
When the police questioned the 66-year-old about the purpose of the visit, she told them she wanted to give the president a letter, according to a Fox report. A police report says the suspect was detained around 5:30 pm near the Old Ebbitt Grill restaurant on 15 Street NW. During the security check of the vehicle, police say they discovered a loaded handgun, claiming that a man accompanying her was also armed. Her male companion was arrested for allegedly carrying a BB gun.
According to reports, the agency said it did not believe either of the individuals posed an immediate threat to Biden or any other Secret Service protectees. The Secret Service said that "during the course of the encounter and subsequent arrests, the individuals posed no immediate danger to any Secret Service protectee.”
"One of the individuals disclosed the possession of a weapon and was immediately detained and the second individual disclosed the location of an additional weapon in a vehicle nearby," a Secret Service spokesperson said. After finding that vehicle, the Secret Service said its officers "took possession of the weapon."
This is not the first time that arms and ammunition were carried to the White House. According to the police, on January 16 this year, a Virginia man was arrested for driving up to a checkpoint allegedly with fake inauguration credentials, a loaded firearm and a ton of ammo. In another incident that took place just a day later, a woman, Linda Magovern, 63, was arrested under similar circumstances as she tried to pass herself as a member of Biden's cabinet.
Hall's arrest comes just after President Biden, on the occasion of the third anniversary of the Parkland high school shooting, urged Congress to enact a ‘common sense’ gun law, in order to end "our epidemic of gun violence and make our schools and communities safer".
Biden said, “Today, I am calling on Congress to enact commonsense gun law reforms, including requiring background checks on all gun sales, banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, and eliminating immunity for gun manufacturers who knowingly put weapons of war on our streets. We owe it to all those we’ve lost and to all those left behind to grieve to make a change. The time to act is now.”