Lawrence Jackson/White House/Zuma

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.

A man in possession of a rifle and ammunition was arrested outside the Naval Observatory, which contains Vice President Kamala Harris’ residence, Wednesday afternoon. Harris and her husband, Doug Emhoff, do not currently live at the Naval Observatory because it is undergoing renovations.

According to police bulletins, the Texas man, a former Army drone operator who was apparently experiencing paranoid delusions, said he was going to DC “to take care of his problem.” He was charged with carrying a dangerous weapon, carrying a rifle or shotgun outside of a business, possession of unregistered ammunition, and possession of a large capacity ammunition feeding device.

The incident was particularly worrisome given the recent violence at the Capitol, and the base personal attacks former President Trump and his minions leveled against Harris during the campaign and beyond. Among other things, Trump has referred to Harris as mean, “nasty,” “horrible,” “disrespectful,” “shameless,” and a “disaster,” and said that electing her would be “an insult to our country.”

While the suspect’s political ideologies are not yet clear, one can only imagine how a mentally unhinged fan of the former president might interpret such attacks on the vice president’s character.   

DONALD TRUMP & DEMOCRACY

Mother Jones was founded to do things differently in the aftermath of a political crisis: Watergate. We stand for justice and democracy. We reject false equivalence. We go after, and go deep on, stories others don’t. And we’re a nonprofit newsroom because we knew corporations and billionaires would never fund the journalism we do. Our reporting makes a difference in policies and people’s lives changed.

And we need your support like never before to vigorously fight back against the existential threats American democracy and journalism face. We’re running behind our online fundraising targets and urgently need all hands on deck right now. We can’t afford to come up short—we have no cushion; we leave it all on the field.

Please help with a donation today if you can—even just a few bucks helps. Not ready to donate but interested in our work? Sign up for our Daily newsletter to stay well-informed—and see what makes our people-powered, not profit-driven, journalism special.

payment methods

DONALD TRUMP & DEMOCRACY

Mother Jones was founded to do things differently in the aftermath of a political crisis: Watergate. We stand for justice and democracy. We reject false equivalence. We go after, and go deep on, stories others don’t. And we’re a nonprofit newsroom because we knew corporations and billionaires would never fund the journalism we do. Our reporting makes a difference in policies and people’s lives changed.

And we need your support like never before to vigorously fight back against the existential threats American democracy and journalism face. We’re running behind our online fundraising targets and urgently need all hands on deck right now. We can’t afford to come up short—we have no cushion; we leave it all on the field.

Please help with a donation today if you can—even just a few bucks helps. Not ready to donate but interested in our work? Sign up for our Daily newsletter to stay well-informed—and see what makes our people-powered, not profit-driven, journalism special.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate