The FBI is reportedly investigating a suspicious vehicle near the Pentagon after park police at Arlington National Cemetary arrested a man there overnight. Apparently the vehicle — presumably the detainee’s – was searched and found to contain no suspicious items. A backpack belonging to the detainee and containing a powder was also tested, and found to be inert. Rep. Peter King (R., N.Y.) says it looks like a mentally unstable person who is no real threat, but the investigation is ongoing.
UPDATE: The man arrested is apparently 22-year-old Yonathan Melaku, a foreign-born Muslim who joined the Marine Corps reserves as a transportation specialist in 2007. So far they haven’t found anything on his person or in his car with which he could have done any damage, but:
He had a backpack containing up to five pounds (2.3 kilograms) of an unknown substance labeled as ammonium nitrate, law enforcement sources told FOX.
Tests later showed the substance to be “inert,” sources said. Authorities also found a notebook in the bag with words such as “Taliban” and “al Qaeda,” written in it, it is alleged. Arlington is closed to the public at night.
The backpack also contained 20 spent 9-millimeter shell casings and three cans of black spray paint, according to media reports.
More here.