Suspicious vehicle parked outside the U.S. Supreme Court leads to arrest

The United States Capitol Police arrested a man after he illegally parked in front of the Supreme Court and refused leave.

In August, the same man came to the Capitol Complex and made statements that concerned officials.

The man, who has been identified as 55-year old Dale Paul Melvin of Kimball, Michigan, was arrested for failure to obey a police officer and assault.

“I would like to express my appreciation for all of our officers as well as the Supreme Court Police officers,” said Deputy Chief Jason Bell of the USCP’s Operational Services Bureau. “Everybody did an outstanding job to keep our Congressional Campus safe.”

At about 9:30 a.m., officers spotted Melvin’s illegally parked Chevy Tahoe in front of the Supreme Court. Melvin refused to talk to responding officers.

Officers cleared the area out of an abundance of caution because the suspect appeared to be frustrated and told officers:“The time for talking is done.”

There’s no information on motive and no weapons have been found, police said.

Police then brought in crisis negotiation officers who tried to speak with the suspect, but he still refused to talk.

At around 11 a.m., the USCP Containment and Emergency Response Team, which is similar to a SWAT team pulled the man from the SUV.

The apparent supporter of former President Donald Trump was arrested after police used a flash-bang to extract him from the vehicle parked.

The vehicle is still being searched, but so far no weapons have been found.

Authorities said they do not expect to issue additional news releases about this arrest.

There were no disruptions to operations at the Supreme Court, where oral arguments began as planned at 10 a.m.

The first case was Brown v. Davenport. In 2008, a jury convicted Ervine Davenport of first-degree murder. Davenport was visibly shackled at his feet, waist, and hands throughout the trial, and at issue is whether his shackling had a “substantial and injurious effect or influence in determining the jury’s verdict.

In Hemphill v. New York, the Supreme Court is considering whether a defendant may be convicted of a crime based in part on the statement of a witness who is not present at trial and not made available for cross-examination.

The Supreme Court building remains closed to visitors out of concern for the health and safety of the public and Supreme Court employees, until further notice.

The building will remain open for official business. Please see additional COVID-19 announcements here.

An audio feed will be live-streamed and the audio will be available on the Court’s website later in the day.