Tipsheet

You Can Thank the Park Police for that Overblown Story About a VA Man Arrested in DC with a Handgun and Ammo

Matt Vespa
Matt Vespa  |  January 18, 2021 4:05 PM

Over the weekend, a Virginia man was arrested at a DC checkpoint with a handgun and 500 rounds of ammunition. The capital is on edge ever since the riot that occurred on Capitol Hill as members of Congress were certifying the 2020 Electoral College results. Now, as we enter the final days of the Trump presidency, we have nearly 30,000 troops in the city, walls erected, and fences set up ahead of Joe Biden’s inauguration. So, this story about some guy caught with a gun and ammunition obviously got the liberal media going, but it was exacerbated when it was reported that the man presented a fake credential. Yeah, about that last part. It’s fake news. Once again, the media was absolute trash at doing their jobs and when called out about it, some people threw a tantrum. At heart, this was a misunderstanding. It’s not a harbinger of some coup from within cuckoo narrative. And the man has been released, no extremist ties, and had a proper Park Police pass (via WaPo):

A Virginia man was arrested after law enforcement found at least one firearm and ammunition in his truck as he tried to enter an inauguration security checkpoint near the Capitol on Friday evening with a credential that was not authorized, according to court documents.

Wesley Allen Beeler, 31, of Front Royal drove his Ford F-150 up to a checkpoint on E Street, northeast of the Capitol, where he was met by Capitol Police officers, according to the court documents. The area is one of many under complete lockdown following the Jan. 6 breach of the Capitol and ahead of the Jan. 20 inauguration.

Beeler was arrested on charges of carrying a pistol without a license, possession of an unregistered firearm and possession of unregistered ammunition, a Capitol Police spokesperson said. At a hearing on Saturday afternoon, the U.S. attorney’s office for the District asked a judge to issue a stay-away order. Beeler was released on personal recognizance, which prosecutors did not object to, even when the judge asked three times whether the government wished him to be held ahead of trial.

“It was an honest mistake,” Beeler explained after being released. In a tear-filled interview, he said he has spent the past week working as hired security in downtown Washington ahead of the inauguration. He said he forgot that his firearm was in his truck when he left his home in Virginia, where he said he has a license to carry. He said he realized it was there halfway through his trip but that he was running late, so he didn’t turn around. He denied that he had the more than 500 rounds of ammunition listed in his arrest report.

Honestly, for all the talk about how Trump is irresponsible on Twitter and whatnot, the liberal media establishment has done more to spread misinformation and hysteria than the outgoing president. Story after story they do is either hyperbole, overblown, or flat-out wrong. This was no exception. Way to weaponize a nothingburger story, folks. Take a bow.