Man Arrested for Carrying Guillotine in Pickup Truck Near Capitol

U.S. Capitol Police arrested a man on August 25, 2026, who was found carrying a guillotine in the bed of his pickup truck. Philan-Tam-Duy Le, 35, from Julian, California, was arrested on suspicion of carrying a dangerous weapon. The truck was parked along the 100 block of East Capitol Street. According to police, Le drove to Washington from California. Investigators are looking into his background to understand the purpose of his visit to Washington. The truck was spotted near the Capitol and the Supreme Court, where it was illegally parked. An Instagram account that appeared to belong to Le featured a video of a man with the guillotine outside FBI headquarters, captioned "Guillotine adventures" with a mention of going to "Capital hill next." Capitol Police noted that they often make arrests outside Capitol grounds, and such incidents are not necessarily politically motivated.