Prosecutors in Philadelphia said they plan to charge two out-of-state men with firearms offenses after they were arrested Thursday night near the Pennsylvania Convention Center – where ballots are still being counted in the close 2020 presidential race.
Additional charges may be possible as well, District Attorney Larry Krasner said Friday during an afternoon news conference.
The city’s police department said it received a tip Thursday that armed individuals were headed to the convention center in a silver Hummer. At around 10:20 p.m., they found a similar vehicle parked and unoccupied at 230 N. 13th St., about a block away, authorities said.
PHILLY POLICE THWART POTENTIAL THREAT TO PENNSYLVANIA CONVENTION CENTER, REPORTS SAY
A few minutes later, the department said two bicycle patrol officers spotted two men, identified later as 61-year-old Antonio LaMotta and 42-year-old Joshua Macias, armed with handguns. Both are from Chesapeake, Va.
LaMotta allegedly had a holstered 9mm visible on his hip, and police said Macias had a concealed .40 caliber pistol beneath his jacket. Both were arrested and face firearms charges.
One had a Virginia concealed carry permit – but that’s not valid in Pennsylvania, authorities said. The other man allegedly told authorities he did not have a permit to carry.
A police department spokesperson said the men acknowledged that the silver Hummer was theirs, and police found an AR-15-style rifle inside.
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Authorities said they also found a QAnon-related sticker on the vehicle, but Krasner said investigators did not immediately see indications that the suspects were acting in coordination with anyone else.
The FBI is assisting with the investigation, according to authorities.
A women traveling with the suspects has not been arrested, Krasner said.
The Virginian-Pilot reported Friday that LaMotta has appeared in photos behind Republican Virginia state Sen. Amanda Chase taken at a campaign event.
In a Facebook post, Chase said the suspect had no connection to her campaign and denounced “any attempt to plot an attack” on the convention center.
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