Man accused of bringing guillotine near Capitol posted plans before arrest

Philan-Tam-Duy Le, who is accused of bringing a guillotine near the United States Capitol Building, reportedly posted his plans on social media before his arrest. Le, a tattoo artist from Julian, California, allegedly shared an Instagram video on August 12, featuring a guillotine and him wearing an executioner's hood. In the video, he expressed frustration with lawmakers and defense contractors over involvement in 'forever wars' and claimed he was developing a 'solution.' He asserted the guillotine was strictly for self-defense and harbored no ill will towards any group, concluding the caption with a message about traveling to the capital.

U.S. Capitol Police officers Sergei Vittone, Ryerson Hill, and Joseph Diaz reportedly discovered an illegally parked black Toyota Tacoma with a guillotine in its truck bed. Hill confirmed the guillotine was real. According to an affidavit, Le told officers he was not near the Capitol for any specific reason and had no issues with specific members of Congress.

Le confirmed on Saturday that he had been released from prison on August 26 and is scheduled to stand trial on September 24. He declined to comment further on the ongoing investigations.