The U.S. Capitol Police on Tuesday arrested a man seen allegedly driving with a guillotine in Washington, D.C.
Philan-Tam-Duy Le, 35, was arrested by Capitol Police, and a guillotine, a device historically used for executions via decapitation, was seized from the back of his truck. Le was arrested for allegedly carrying a dangerous weapon.
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“The suspect drove here from California. USCP investigators are going through the suspect’s background to learn more about why he came to Washington, DC,” officials said in a press release.
Le caught the attention of officers near the 100 block of East Capitol Street around 3 p.m. for allegedly having the 18th-century execution device in the bed of his truck and being illegally parked. Photos released by police show a tall, rectangular wooden structure with a string attached sitting in the bed of a pickup truck.
The guillotine was proposed by a French doctor in the late 1700s and was intended to be used for quick killings and to make executions equal for everyone. It is most commonly known for its use during the French Revolution’s Reign of Terror, and the last execution by guillotine was in 1977 in Marseille, France.
Tuesday’s arrest marks the latest arrest of a suspicious person by Capitol Police. Last month, officers arrested a man at the north barricade of the Capitol who had a firearm.
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Police said 67-year-old Wendell J. Royster drove up to the area in a Ford Bronco and asked for directions to the Supreme Court. Royster had traveled to Washington from Mississippi.
The block of East Capitol Street where Le was arrested Tuesday is also near the Supreme Court building.
