A convicted felon believed to be part of the Occupy Seattle protest was arrested at the demonstration after he was found carrying an unloaded rifle in a bag, along with 16 rounds of ammunition, police said on Tuesday.
But the 40-year-old man, dressed in military fatigues when taken into custody on Monday evening, was not accused of threatening anyone with violence, Seattle Police Sergeant Sean Whitcomb said.
He was jailed on suspicion of being a felon in possession of a firearm, itself a felony offense under state weapons laws, Whitcomb said, adding that formal charges had yet to be filed.
"We believe he was part of the demonstration," Whitcomb told Reuters. "If we believed that this person intended to harm anyone, that would have been part of the investigation, and there would have been an additional request for charges.
"We don't believe this person was a threat to anyone there. We have no indication of that," he added.
The man's name was not disclosed, and Whitcomb declined to specify his previous criminal record.
He was arrested after officers patrolling Westlake Park, a downtown plaza that has been the scene of ongoing protests, saw him with a camouflaged rifle bag over his shoulder and heard him say he had a Ruger, the name of a gun manufacturer.
Police opened the bag to find an unloaded, short-barreled semiautomatic rifle with a pistol grip, and when they asked the man if he had any ammunition for the weapon he produced a box with 16 rounds, Whitcomb said.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44952864/ns/us_news/
:lol:
Those crazy liberal gun nuts.......
But the 40-year-old man, dressed in military fatigues when taken into custody on Monday evening, was not accused of threatening anyone with violence, Seattle Police Sergeant Sean Whitcomb said.
He was jailed on suspicion of being a felon in possession of a firearm, itself a felony offense under state weapons laws, Whitcomb said, adding that formal charges had yet to be filed.
"We believe he was part of the demonstration," Whitcomb told Reuters. "If we believed that this person intended to harm anyone, that would have been part of the investigation, and there would have been an additional request for charges.
"We don't believe this person was a threat to anyone there. We have no indication of that," he added.
The man's name was not disclosed, and Whitcomb declined to specify his previous criminal record.
He was arrested after officers patrolling Westlake Park, a downtown plaza that has been the scene of ongoing protests, saw him with a camouflaged rifle bag over his shoulder and heard him say he had a Ruger, the name of a gun manufacturer.
Police opened the bag to find an unloaded, short-barreled semiautomatic rifle with a pistol grip, and when they asked the man if he had any ammunition for the weapon he produced a box with 16 rounds, Whitcomb said.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44952864/ns/us_news/
:lol:
Those crazy liberal gun nuts.......