US News

Marine reservist arrested in major security alert near Pentagon

A red car that reportedly contained a suspicious device is towed away Friday.

A red car that reportedly contained a suspicious device is towed away Friday. (EPA)

ARLINGTON, Va. — A Marine Corps reservist was arrested Friday after he was found near the Pentagon with a backpack full of suspicious items, the FBI confirmed Friday, in an incident that sparked a major security alert in the nation’s capital.

The items were labeled as explosives — but they turned out to be harmless and the episode did not pose any threat to the public, authorities said.

The scare began at around 2:00am Friday morning when US Park Police detained a man for trespassing in Arlington National Cemetery after public hours, according to an FBI statement.

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Yonathan Melaku, a 22-year-old Lance Corporal reservist with the Marine Corps, was arrested after responding officers discovered him to be wearing a backpack containing about five pounds (2.3 kilograms) of an unknown substance labeled as ammonium nitrate, the FBI confirmed.

Tests later showed the substance to be “non-explosive and inert,” the FBI confirmed. The bag also contained a notebook with words such as “Taliban” and “al Qaeda,” written in it, according to FOX News Channel, as well as about 20 spent 9mm shell casings.

US Park Police also found Melaku’s car, a red 2011 Nissan, parked in a wooded area close to the Pentagon. A search of the vehicle found it to pose “no immediate threat,” according to the FBI statement.

By midday the FBI had executed a search warrant of Melaku’s house in Alexandria, Va., a process that involved a team of bomb-removal experts.

Later in the afternoon, FBI officials said the situation posed “no public safety hazard” and released a statement claiming that law enforcement officials believe Melaku “acted alone and that there were no other locations or activity involved.”

Melaku, a Muslim, is believed to be naturalized US citizen originally from Ethiopia. He joined the Marines as a reserve motor transport specialist in 2007. He was never deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan, military sources told FOX News Channel.

A person of the same name and date of birth was arrested last month for breaking into vehicles in nearby Leesburg, Va., police sources also told FOX.

The incident led to law enforcement agencies including the FBI, the US Park Police, and the Pentagon Police blocking off several roads near the Pentagon. All the roads were subsequently reopened.

Melaku remained in custody Friday afternoon.