Capitol Police arrest man with a handgun at north barricade of the US Capitol

By Annie Grayer, CNN

(CNN) — US Capitol Police arrested a man at the Capitol’s north barricade who they said had a handgun, which is prohibited on Capitol grounds.

CNN captured video of the man being taken into custody. It shows six officers surrounding an SUV, two of whom have their guns drawn and pointed at a man emerging from the driver’s side with his hands above his head.

The man walks backward away from his car and officers lower their weapons. Then a group approaches the man and cuff his hands behind his back, as more officers arrive on the scene.

In a statement, Capitol Police said 67-year-old Wendell J. Royster of Columbia, Mississippi, had been charged with carrying a pistol without a license and no permit. He did not appear in a Superior Court database, and no lawyer was listed for him Monday afternoon.

They said the incident began just after 11:20 a.m. Monday, when Royster drove a rented Ford Bronco to the north barricade and asked an officer for directions to the Supreme Court. The officer saw a handgun on his lap, Capitol Police said, and took him into custody within two minutes.

Capitol Police said Royster was not on record with their agency and “there does not appear to be a nexus to the Congress.”

The video captured by CNN shows that, once cuffed, the man appears to talk with one officer, who gestures toward the inside of the vehicle. A dog sitting inside the vehicle barks at an officer through an open window. Capitol Police said the dog was “chained inside the Bronco,” and officers gave it water until animal control retrieved it.

This story has been updated with additional reporting.

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CNN’s Holmes Lybrand contributed to this report.