Sandy MalonePhiladelphia, PA – Philadelphia police arrested two men near the Pennsylvania Convention Center early Friday morning, acting on tip about a planned attack on the ballot counting location.
Philadelphia police said they received information on Thursday that several people from Virginia Beach were headed to the convention center in a Silver Hummer to “straighten things out,” the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
The tipsters told authorities that the people in the Hummer had guns.
The alert was sent out to law enforcement agencies and said the source had warned that the people in the Hummer had an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle with them, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
The source told authorities that the suspects had recently purchased a large amount of ammunition and AR parts.
Police investigated and found the Hummer parked about a block away from the Pennsylvania Convention Center, WPVI reported.
Officers saw the logo of the internet conspiracy group QAnon on a sticker on the Hummer’s window and on a baseball cap on the dashboard.
QAnon has been designated a domestic terror threat by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), according to WPVI.
Bicycle officers located two men nearby at about 10:27 p.m. on Nov. 5 who said the Hummer belonged to them, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
Police said that both men were carrying weapons.
Neither man had a permit to carry a gun in Pennsylvania, WPVI reported.
Police said they searched the silver Hummer and found another gun.
The men were both arrested on weapons charges, WPVI reported.
Authorities have not said what kind of guns the men were carrying or what was found inside the Hummer, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
Police have not said whether there are any other suspects involved.
The investigation is ongoing and the FBI is assisting local authorities, WPVI reported.
Holly Matkin
