(CN) — A man dressed in body armor and carrying a cache of loaded guns in his car was arrested after attempting to enter a federal courthouse in Los Angeles on Wednesday morning.
Erik Christopher Younggren, 34, of Cherry Valley, was arrested after he attempted to pass through a security checkpoint in a parking lot outside the Edward R. Roybal Federal Building in downtown Los Angeles carrying two rifles, a .45-caliber semi-automatic firearm and approximately 565 rounds of ammunition.
Younggren, who is from Riverside County, was also dressed in a full-body armor suit with knives attached and loaded magazines.
He is scheduled to appear in court on Friday afternoon to answer the criminal complaint filed in federal court on Thursday afternoon.
U.S. Attorney Maria Elena Stiteler alleged that Younggren attempted to enter the courthouse parking facility at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday morning. He told security officials that he was an important witness in an ongoing case at the courthouse.
Later he told members of the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security that he went to the courthouse because “protection…[and he] explained that he was purportedly a confidential informant assigned to a confidential federal task force,” according to the criminal complaint.
He was charged with attempted possession of firearms and dangerous weapons in a federal facility, a misdemeanor offense that carries a sentence of up to one year in federal prison.
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