Man with fake badge, BB gun and ammunition is arrested outside Capitol

Jerome Felipe, a retired police officer from Flint, Mich., is facing charges in the incident

The U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. (Al Drago/Bloomberg)

A man with a fake badge, BB gun, body armor and high-capacity magazines was arrested outside of the U.S. Capitol on Friday morning, police said.

Jerome Felipe, a retired police officer from Flint, Mich., is facing charges of unlawful possession of high-capacity magazines and unregistered ammunition, police said. He is 53 years old.

His family could not be reached for comment.

Just after 5 a.m. Friday, a U.S. Capitol Police patrol officer spoke with a man who had parked his car near the west side of the Capitol, authorities said. Felipe presented the officer a fake badge that had “Department of the INTERPOL” printed on it and said that he was a criminal investigator with the agency, according to U.S. Capitol Police. Interpol could not immediately be reached for comment.

Police said Felipe gave officers permission to search his car. Inside, they discovered a BB gun, ballistic vests and other ammunition. They did not find any firearms beyond the BB gun, the agency said.

By Friday afternoon, law enforcement was still working to determine why Felipe was parked near the Capitol.