Man arrested with machete, knives at Capitol Visitor Center during Jimmy Carter viewing

David Matthews, New York Daily News on Jan 8, 2025

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A man was arrested Wednesday afternoon after trying to enter the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center with a machete and knives during the Jimmy Carter casket viewing.

The man was stopped at a security screening around 2 p.m., Capitol Police said.

Officers spotted the machete in the man’s bag as it passed through a X-ray machine. A follow-up search of the bag turned up three additional knives.

“The man is being arrested for multiple charges of carrying a dangerous weapon,” police said on social media.

The suspect was identified early Wednesday evening as 44-year-old Mel J. Horne, of Washington, D.C. Investigators are still working to determine a motive for Horne’s actions, Capitol Police said in a statement.

Security screening at the entrance was delayed for roughly an hour, but the viewing of former President Jimmy Carter’s casket in the Capitol Rotunda was otherwise unaffected. Thousands came out to pay their respects to Carter, who died Dec. 29 at the age of 100.

The 39th president’s remains will stay in the Rotunda — and available to be viewed by the public — until Thursday morning, followed by a state funeral at Washington National Cathedral where President Biden will deliver the eulogy.

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