Georgia man who ran toward Capitol with shotgun pleads guilty

A Georgia man who charged at the U.S. Capitol armed with a loaded shotgun and wearing body armor and camouflage clothing pleaded guilty on Monday to illegally carrying a firearm, court records show.

Carter Camacho, 18, of Smyrna, Georgia, told police officers who apprehended him outside the Capitol on Feb. 17 that he intended to confront members of Congress and “scare them into speaking the truth,” according to federal prosecutors. But he didn’t make it into the building, and nobody was injured.

Camacho is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 8 by U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta in Washington, D.C. He has remained jailed since his arrest.

Camacho pleaded guilty to two counts: illegal possession of a firearm on Capitol grounds and receipt or distribution of child pornography. The latter charge stems from a search of his phone after his arrest.

Surveillance video captured Camacho exiting a parked car and running toward the west side of the Capitol, the side that is adjacent to the National Mall, with the shotgun in his hands. He complied with Capitol Police officers’ commands to stop and get down on the ground.

“This individual was challenged by United States Capitol Police officers in order to drop the weapon, which he did comply with,” U.S. Capitol Police Chief Michael Sullivan said in February.

Sullivan had said the man, whom he didn’t name at the time, was wearing a tactical vest and had tactical gloves. He said the shotgun was loaded, and the man was carrying additional rounds. Officers found a Kevlar helmet and a gas mask in his vehicle, Sullivan said.

Camacho told police that he purchased the shotgun for “home defense” less than a week before he drove from Georgia to the Capitol, prosecutors said. He also said he had left pepper spray and other tactical gear in his car “just in case I don’t want to shoot anyone,” according to prosecutors.

“He further indicated that he considered using the shotgun to breach a door to be able to enter the Capitol,” they wrote.