U.S. Capitol Police arrested a 35-year-old California man on Tuesday, Aug. 25, after officers spotted a fully assembled guillotine standing upright in the bed of his pickup truck, parked steps from the U.S. Capitol and Supreme Court.

Philan-Tam-Duy Le of Julian, California, was charged with carrying a dangerous weapon after officers noticed his illegally parked truck along the 100 block of East Capitol Street just after 3 p.m., according to a USCP press release. The block sits between the Supreme Court Building and the Library of Congress.

Police said Le drove more than 2,500 miles from the small San Diego County community of Julian to Washington. Photos released by the department show the guillotine's frame extending several feet above the truck and into the surrounding tree line, Newsweek reported.

Hours before his arrest, an Instagram account that appeared to belong to Le posted a video showing a man with the device outside FBI headquarters in Washington. "Outside the FBI building, just eating some cheese pizza," the man says in the clip, according to NBC News. The post was captioned "Guillotine adventures" and included the text "Capital hill next."

Capitol Police said investigators are going through Le's background to determine why he traveled to Washington.

Congress was in recess. Lawmakers were in their home districts, not on Capitol Hill.

Le's older brother, Kelvin Le, told the Los Angeles Times he believed the guillotine was intended as a symbol of his brother's disapproval of the country's political climate. Kelvin Le described his brother as a free spirit who worked as a cook at a Vietnamese restaurant and as a tattoo artist, and said he did not support either President Donald Trump or California Gov. Gavin Newsom. "I don't think he'd hurt anyone," Kelvin Le said, adding that he was surprised by the arrest.

The arrest comes amid a sharp rise in threats directed at members of Congress. The USCP's Threat Assessment Section investigated 14,938 cases involving concerning statements, behaviors and communications in 2025, up from 9,474 in 2024, according to a January department report. In February, Capitol Police arrested an 18-year-old Georgia man who ran toward the Capitol carrying a loaded shotgun while wearing tactical-style gear.

No court date has been publicly announced. Anyone with information can contact the USCP at 202-224-1677.