AL Man Found With Guns, Explosives Near US Capitol Indicted: Feds

WASHINGTON, D.C. — An Alabama man who was arrested Friday in Washington, D.C., after police found explosives and guns in his vehicle is one of the first two people indicted in connection to the riot and raid on the U.S. Capitol Jan. 6.

According to the indictment, Lonnie Coffman, a 70-year-old Falkville resident, faces 17 criminal counts, as prosecutors allege Coffman had five illegal firearms — two pistols, one revolver, an AR-15 and a shotgun — in addition to the Molotov cocktails and a "large capacity ammo feeding device."

Records from the DOJ said that just after 12:30 p.m., reports of explosive devices near the Republican National Club and the Democratic National Committee headquarters were relayed to the United States Capitol Police. Police investigations led them to a red GMC truck that was registered to Coffman, officials said.

Based on this discovery, additional personnel were called to the scene, including the United States Capitol Police Hazardous Materials Team. A preliminary test by the United States Capitol Police Hazardous Material Team determined that the liquid in the mason jars was an igniting substance and that it had a spectrograph profile consistent with gasoline.

Coffman was identified by law enforcement when he was said to be attempting to locate his vehicle and asked an officer for assistance, saying his name and that his vehicle was a red GMC Sierra, officials said.

"The man asked officers whether they had located the bombs, which officers initially understood to be a reference to the components to the destructive devices located in Coffman's truck, but later understood to be a reference to the secure perimeter that had been set up by law enforcement, which perimeter had kept Coffman from returning to his car earlier," the DOJ affidavit states.

Coffman was not charged with illegally entering a federal building or civil disorder, but the charges against him are thus far the most serious of those arrested in Washington during the incident.

He is currently detained and is set to appear before a judge Monday afternoon.