Trump Hotel guest arrested with guns & ammo in car

Police arrested a man who was staying at the Trump Hotel in Washington, DC after guns were found inside his car. The cache included a handgun, an assault rifle, and 90 rounds of ammunition.

Metropolitan Police made the arrest inside the hotel early on Wednesday morning and charged 43-year-old Bryan Moles of Edinboro, Pennsylvania with carrying a pistol without a license.

It is illegal to have an assault rifle or a handgun without a license in the US capital.

According to DC police, Pennsylvania State Police tipped them off that a man traveling to the Trump Hotel was possibly armed.

“They provided the suspect’s name and a description of the vehicle. MPD and Secret Service immediately responded and contacted the security at the Trump Hotel. An MPD explosive unit was deployed to the scene to examine the vehicle and they found no hazardous materials,” Metropolitan Police Department Chief Peter Newsham told reporters outside headquarters, adding “We averted a tragedy.”

Police said Moles had made threatening remarks, but investigators did not disclose who those threats were directed towards.

Police Chief Newsham said his motive was under investigation and there was not enough information to charge Moles with making threats. The nature of the threats has not been divulged.

The Secret Service said in a statement it also was investigating the incident but said that no one under its protection was ever at risk.

“Today’s incident is an important reminder that, if you ‘see something’, it is important to ‘say something’ to an official,” Washington Mayor Muriel Browser told reporters.

“Here in the District, we take it very seriously when someone threatens harm in our city,” she said.

Police said Moles left a gun inside his car in plain view. After searching the vehicle, authorities say they also found another gun and ammunition, according to WJLA TV.

The guns found were a Glock 23 pistol and a Carbon Bushmaster assault rifle.

Moles had told someone about the guns in his car, and that person then alerted Pennsylvania police. Moles reportedly told police he is a military veteran and suffers from PTSD, saying he was staying at the hotel because he likes President Trump. It’s unclear if he had posed a threat.

The Trump Hotel issued the following statement:

“We take the safety and security of our guests very seriously. It is our first priority.

“This morning, the authorities arrested a guest who was behaving suspiciously. The matter is under investigation, therefore it would be inappropriate for us to provide additional details.”

Edinboro Police Chief Jeff Craft said Moles had no criminal record in the western Pennsylvania town and was not known to police.

It is not the first time the Trump Hotel in Washington, DC has attracted attention.

On January 17, in the week leading up the Trump’s Inauguration, a California man tried to set himself on fire outside the hotel.

The man, who was not identified, told reporters he was protesting Trump being elected president because he was a “dictator” who is “completely incapable of respecting the Constitution of the United States.”

DC firefighters put out the blaze. The protester had “burn injuries considered to be serious, but non-life-threatening,” and officials took him to an area hospital.