Juan Herrera
WMAL.com
WASHINGTON – An Arkansas man has been arrested for attempting to blow up a vehicle at the Pentagon on Monday.
According to a statement from the U.S. Department of Justice, Pentagon police discovered, Matthew Dmitri Richardson, 19, of Fayetteville, in the Pentagon North Parking lot on Monday morning.
An officer on patrol saw Richardson “striking a cigarette lighter to a piece of fabric that was inserted into the vehicle’s gas tank.”
The vehicle belonged to an active duty service-member, who according to court documents, does not know Richardson.
Richardson threatened to blow up the vehicle and himself when the officer approached. He then ran away when the officer tried to detain him.
According to the DOJ statement, Richardson was later found and arrested near Arlington House.
He is charged with maliciously attempting to damage and destroy by means of fire, a vehicle used in and affecting interstate and foreign commerce. If convicted, Richardson faces a mandatory minimum of five years in prison and a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.
He is due in federal court in Virginia on Tuesday afternoon.
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