Arrested Man Says Gun Was 'an Honest Mistake'

A Virginia man arrested at a checkpoint near the US Capitol said he was late getting to work and forgot a gun was in his pickup. "It was an honest mistake," Wesley Allen Beeler said, per the Washington Post. He was late for his job as a security contractor, he said. "I pulled up to a checkpoint after getting lost in DC because I’m a country boy," Beeler said. Court documents said Beeler volunteered that he had a weapon in his truck—a Glock—when officers asked. "It was just me forgetting to take it out of my truck before I left for work," Beeler said. "I don't know what the DC laws are. It still comes back on me, but I'm not a criminal." He's allowed to carry the weapon legally in Virginia, he said, per the Hill.

Court documents say officers found more than 500 rounds of ammunition in the truck, which Beeler did not tell them about. They also said he produced credentials from his employer that didn't allow him into the area. "I showed them the inauguration badge that was given to me," he told the Post. Beeler said he'd been working downtown for about a week. The company he said he's working for, MVP Protective Services, did not comment on Beeler's arrest. He was released after his arrest and was ordered to not come back to Washington except for a court appearance or a meeting with his lawyer. (More Capitol riot stories.)