Man With Swastika on Truck, Bayonet Arrested Near DNC

California man's father: 'He's not well'
By Liz MacGahan,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 13, 2021 3:31 PM CDT
Man With Bayonet Arrested Near DNC Days Before Rally
File photo of the Democratic National Committee headquarters in Washington.   (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

Less than a week before a right-wing rally is scheduled to take place near the Capitol in Washington, DC, a man with a bayonet and machete was arrested near the Democratic National Committee headquarters. Capitol Police spotted a gray Dodge Dakota with swastika on a side mirror and an American flag instead of a license plate, NPR reports. They found the weapons when they pulled him over early Monday. Donald Craighead, 44, of Oceanside, California, was taken into custody on suspicion of possession of illegal weapons—long knives are against the law in DC. In a statement, Chief Tom Manger said, "This is good police work plain and simple," NBC News reports.

Police say Craighead told them he was “on patrol.” His father and brother in California said that they had not spoken to him in years except to send money for food when he needed it. They told NBC News he had been diagnosed with schizophrenia but they did not think he was still taking his medication, and they thought he had been homeless for a while. "No, he’s not well," Craighead’s father, also named Donald Craighead, said. Capitol Police tweeted pictures of Craighead’s truck, with the swastika and flag, and also a set of antlers on the front grille. (Last month, a man who claimed he had a bomb in his pickup truck was arrested after an hourslong standoff near the Capitol.)

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