A Man Was Arrested Outside Of Kamala Harris’ House With A Rifle & Lots Of Ammunition

Police arrested a man outside of Vice President Kamala Harris’ official residence at the U.S. Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, according to CNN. Officers arrested and charged 31-year-old Paul Murray of San Antonio, TX, and a rifle and ammunition were recovered from his vehicle.

Officers responded "at approximately 12:12 p.m., to the 3400 block of Massachusetts Avenue, NW, in reference to a suspicious person based on an intelligence bulletin that originated from Texas, who was detained by U.S. Secret Service," a spokesperson for D.C.’s Metropolitan Police Department said.

According to internal police bulletins, Murray was a former Army drone operator who was experiencing "paranoid delusions," and said he was going to D.C. "to take care of his problem." Murray had an "AR-15 semi-automatic rifle, 113 rounds of unregistered ammunition, and five 30 round magazines." He has been charged with carrying a dangerous weapon, carrying a rifle or shotgun outside of a business, possession of unregistered ammunition, and possession of a large-capacity ammunition feeding device. The U.S. Secret Service detained the man before police arrived, the Secret Service told CNN.

A new intelligence report the Biden administration delivered to Congress on Wednesday warned about the rising threat of white supremacy and domestic terrorism, according to The New York Times. In light of the January 6 riot by pro-Trump extremists at the U.S. Capitol, the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security are on high alert. The FBI has charged more than 300 people in connection with the riot, including members of far-right groups like the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers. The Capitol Police has extended National Guard deployment on Capitol Hill as a result of continued threats.

This is also far from the first time Vice President Harris has faced threats of violence and intimidation — as a Black and South Asian woman, she faces an inordinate amount. While Murray's political affiliation is as-of-yet unclear, both former President Donald Trump and his supporters have lobbed plenty of insults her way, with him calling her "nasty," "horrible," and a "disaster," among other things. She is also a top target of online harassment. And in October 2020, a Maryland man was charged with threatening to kidnap and kill her and then-Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden.