Bernard L. McCutcheon, 26, of Washington D.C., was charged with two counts of assault on a police officer, one count of possession of a Molotov cocktail and one count of assault with a deadly weapon, U.S. Capitol Police said in a news release.
The incident took place along Massachusetts Avenue NW, just west of North Capitol Street, and near Union Station, where two patrol officers arrived at around 3:30 p.m. after receiving a report that someone had Molotov cocktails, police said.
According to the officers, a man threw a Molotov cocktail at the officers as he tried to light it. The man tried to get away, but officers stopped him, police said. He then dropped another Molotov cocktail.
It was “made with a tequila bottle stuffed with a sock and a liquid later determined to be a petroleum based accelerant by the USCP Hazardous Material Response team,” police said in the statement.
“Both of our officers were treated for minor injuries. Thankfully they are going to be okay,” said Sean Gallagher, acting assistant chief of police for uniformed operations.
“We appreciate their quick action that, without a doubt, kept the community safer.”
Police said a backpack that contained two other bottles of liquid was recovered at the scene.
There was no indication the man was targeting the Capitol or members of Congress, and it isn’t believed that he was connected to any protests in the area, police said.
On Monday, environmental activists rallied near the Capitol to protest a Supreme Court ruling that limited the power of the federal government to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from existing power plants.
Protests have also been taking place in the nation’s capital after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in a bombshell decision last month that is expected to lead to abortion bans in roughly half of U.S. states.
Last week, a Molotov cocktail was thrown through the window of the Hope Clinic for Women, a faith-based crisis pregnancy center in Nashville, Tennessee.
Nashville Police said officers responded to a burglar alarm and found a window smashed and an unignited Molotov cocktail-type device inside.
A message saying “Jane’s Revenge” was also spray-painted on the side of the building, police said. The militant abortion rights group has claimed responsibility for firebombing anti-abortion centers in recent months.
