2 men charged with carrying firearms without a permit near Philadelphia Convention Center where votes are being counted
- Two men were arrested on Thursday near the Convention Center in Philadelphia where votes are currently being counted.
- Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner said the men, driving a silver Hummer from Virginia, were carrying firearms without a permit.
- "We will be requesting that both be held without eligibility for bail when they are arraigned later this evening, as this alarming incident is still very much under investigation," Krasner said.
Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner announced criminal charges on Friday against two men accused of bring firearms, including an AR-15-style rifle, to the city's convention center, where votes are currently being tallied.
On Thursday, local television station WPVI reported that Philadelphia police had received a tip about a group coming from Virginia with plans to "attack the Convention Center."
In his statement a day later, Krasner said cops "spotted a silver Hummer SUV with Virginia tags" parked near the building. Police then arrested two armed men, Joshua Macias and Antonio LaMotta, after "an initial investigation determined that neither had a valid Pennsylvania firearms permit to carry."
The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that the FBI was alerted to the alleged threat by someone in Norfolk, Virginia.
Macias co-founded the group Vets for Trump, The Washington Post reported. The group's chairman, Vlad Lemets, defending him and LaMotta, a member of the group, saying that "all they wanted to do was scope out terrain."
LaMotta's mother told the Post that her son "loved Republicans" and "love Trump very much."
"He didn't want Trump to lose," she said.
Police confiscated two semi-automatic pistols, an AR-15-style rifle, and ammunition, Krasner said.
"We will be requesting that both be held without eligibility for bail when they are arraigned later this evening," he added, "as this alarming incident is still very much under investigation."
In an interview on MSNBC, Krasner said that, as he understands it, the men took off for Philadelphia after President Trump gave speech baselessly alleging electoral fraud.
"The greatest domestic terror threat is white men of extreme right-wing affiliation," he said, while adding that "we shouldn't blow this up" and assume "this was necessarily more than people who are frankly frightened to go into any city... unless they have firearms at their ready."
This story has been updated with new information from the DA's office.
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