Woman arrested at DC checkpoint after telling police she is an officer and cabinet member
Police announce second arrest at security perimeter set-up to protect Joe Biden’s inauguration
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Your support makes all the difference.A woman has become the second known person to be arrested at a Washington DC checkpoint put in place for Joe Biden’s inauguration, after telling officers she was one of them.
Authorities said 63 year-old Linda Magovern was arrested on Saturday near Union Station after she showed police a military challenge coin – used by service members to prove they had been on active duty.
According to NBC News, she went on to say that she was “a part of the presidential cabinet” as well as a member of the police.
The woman, who approached the security checkpoint in a vehicle, then drove away after refusing to stop and prove she had a licence.
She was stopped nearby, outside Union Station, after reversing and driving away.
She was charged with the impersonation of a law enforcement officer, as well as failure to obey and fleeing a law enforcement officer, NBC News reported.
Ms Magovern, who was taken to hospital after the arrest, was the second person in as many days to be arrested at a security checkpoint set-up across the city.
On Friday, police stopped a man with an unregistered firearm and 500 rounds of ammunition, who had tried to pass through another checkpoint near the US Capitol, which have been set up in response to Joe Biden’s inauguration on Wednesday.
According to The Washington Post, the man, who was named as Wesley Allen Beeler, had also shown officers an “unauthorised” security pass, and said afterwards he made an “honest mistake” and was lost. He was arrested on five charges, and released on Saturday.
Some 25,000 troops from the National Guard are expected to be in Washington DC for the inauguration, with many already deployed.
A security perimeter and multiple checkpoints have also been set-up around the US Capitol following the events of 6 January, which saw supporters of the outgoing president, Donald Trump, overwhelm Capitol Police and besiege Congress.
The two known checkpoint arrests also come as concerns are raised that further violence could be seen in the coming days, with top security officials having warned of protests.
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