An Ohio man was nabbed by U.S. Capitol Police after attempting to bring a hammer inside the Capitol building, causing a scuffle with law enforcement officials. Christopher Snow, 33, from Canton, Ohio, entered the Capitol Visitor Center and put his backpack through an X-ray machine at around 3:40 p.m. on Friday, where a security officer detected the silhouette of a hammer on the scan. As reported by NBC Washington, when the officer tried to conduct a secondary screening and look inside the bag, Snow became hostile and tried to seize his bag.
Struggling to restrain him, multiple officers engaged Snow, leading to a tangle that resulted in the officers deploying a Taser to subdue and arrest him. Initially pinned with assault on a police officer, Snow's charge was later amended to unlawful entry, as articulated by The Washington Post. The reason behind Snow's possession of the hammer and his intent at the Capitol remains under investigation.
During an arraignment hearing on Saturday, Snow pleaded not guilty to the charges in D.C. Superior Court, and an assistant U.S. Attorney declared that an exclusion order from the U.S. Supreme Court will be issued against him. Further details on why Snow wanted to access the Supreme Court were not disclosed by authorities, based on court records mentioned by The Washington Post. A judge subsequently released Snow on his own recognizance, and he is slated for a follow-up hearing on April 17th.
"These officers did what they were trained to do and stopped this man from getting into the U.S. Capitol," said USCP Captain Andrew Pecher, as described by an officer who apprehended Snow, quoted in a press release obtained by CBS News Pittsburgh.
