California Man Arrested With Guillotine Near U.S. Capitol
California man arrested with guillotine near U.S. Capitol; charged with carrying dangerous weapon.
Event / Security
Capitol Guillotine Arrest
A California resident was arrested for illegally parking a pickup truck containing a guillotine near the US Capitol grounds. The suspect had posted on social media about bringing the device to Capitol Hill and FBI headquarters. He was charged with carrying a dangerous weapon.
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2026-08-26 to 2026-11-08 · UTC publication dates
Coverage begins 26 Aug, 05:04 UTC
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What happened
Suspect posted social media content showing guillotine at FBI headquarters
An Instagram account believed to belong to Le contained a video posted on Tuesday afternoon showing a man with the guillotine outside FBI headquarters in Washington. The post was captioned 'Guillotine adventures' and stated 'Capital hill next,' indicating intent to bring the device to Capitol Hill.
California man arrested with guillotine near US Capitol
Capitol Police arrested 35-year-old Philan-Tam-Duy Le of Julian, California, after his pickup truck containing a guillotine was found illegally parked near the US Capitol grounds. The arrest occurred on Tuesday shortly after 3 p.m. near the 100 block of East Capitol Street. Police detained Le to investigate why he had traveled from California with the device and his intentions.
Suspect charged with carrying a dangerous weapon
Philan-Tam-Duy Le was arrested on suspicion of carrying a dangerous weapon in connection with the guillotine found in his truck bed. The wooden structure, approximately 18th-century French design, was photographed by police showing a tall rectangular frame with a blade and string mechanism.
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