Dr. Bryan Moles: Edinboro, PA Man With Guns Arrested At Donald Trump’s Hotel Near White House

Dr. Bryan Moles of Edinboro, Pennsylvania, was arrested for illegal firearms possession while he was staying at President Donald Trump’s hotel in Washington, D.C., for the night. D.C. Police Chief Peter Newsham said that law enforcement officials had “averted potential disaster in our nation’s capital” with the arrest. No one is calling the incident a “Trump assassination attempt” although the situation was serious enough that the Secret Service investigated Moles as a potential threat to their protectees. The suspect’s motives are still being investigated, but it’s possible he is a conservative-leaning Trump supporter.

The police say the 43-year-old Dr. Moles left a gun inside his car open to plain view. The officers reacted to a tip about 1:50 a.m. and the vehicle had already been turned over by the driver to a Trump hotel valet, who had parked the car in a parking garage. Upon searching the vehicle, police say they found a Carbin 15 Bushmaster AR rifle, a Glock 0.23 in the glove box, along with 30 rounds of 7.62 mm ammunition and 60 rounds of 0.23 caliber ammunition.

“While on scene officers observed the listed firearm in plain view in [Mole’s] vehicle with secondary firearm located [in suspect’s] glove box,” said the police report. “[Suspect] was placed under arrest and charged with Carrying a Pistol without a license CPWL and transported to the First Direct for processing.”

A man with an AR-15, a 40-caliber handgun and 90 rounds of ammunition was arrested at the Trump hotel in Washington https://t.co/KphMiAdA4y pic.twitter.com/GdA1kFmNSa

— CNN International (@cnni) May 31, 2017

Police arrested Dr. Bryan Moles while he was inside his Trump hotel room. According to NBC Washington, D.C. Police and the White House Secret Service agents responded to the threat based upon a tipster. A statement from the Secret Service said they acted on a “report of a potential threat against Secret Service protectees” although none of the protectees, including President Trump, were ever at risk.

“The Secret Service greatly appreciates its strong partnership with the Metropolitan Police Department, the Pennsylvania State Police, and all of our law enforcement partners. This investigation is still new and ongoing,” said Special Agent in Charge Brian Ebert, Secret Service Washington Field Office, according to the Hill.

The reason why there was a “potential threat” is because the Trump hotel is located in the 1100 block of Pennsylvania Avenue NW, which is only five blocks from the White House. In addition, representatives of Trump Hotel said Moles had been “behaving suspiciously.”

“This morning, the authorities arrested a guest who was behaving suspiciously. The matter is under investigation, therefore it would be inappropriate for us to provide additional details,” the statement from the Trump hotel said.

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said the incident was “disturbing” but that he was glad the situation was resolved “quickly and peacefully.”

“Today’s incident is an important reminder that when you see something, it is important to say something to an official,” Bowser said.

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Dr. Bryan Moles’ Motive Investigated

As of this publishing, no details about any possible motive were immediately provided by authorities. Dr. Moles’ LinkedIn profile says he was a ER doctor for years, and the Associated Press claims that “Moles is a physician who practices emergency medicine at a hospital in Erie, Pennsylvania.”

The main issue is why the man would bring so much firepower to Washington. The guns and ammo owned by the Edinboro, Pennsylvania, man were noted by reports as being illegal and unregistered. Moles’ Facebook account did contain a May 26 post that discussed staying at the Trump hotel, but it did not give any hint about why the man would bring firearms on the trip.

“If you had to choose between a Hilton Hotel and a Trump hotel, which would you choose and why?” Moles asked his Facebook friends.

One of the Facebook responses likened Trump to Darth Vader, whom Moles called the “boss” with the hashtag #DarthVaderIsABoss. However, another Facebook friend suggested the Trump hotel because the “dark side wants to disarm the public so they can create only victim disarmament zones then they can just walk through any resistance to their fascist thought police.” In response, Moles liked the comment.

Various Facebook posts made by Moles would seem to indicate he leans politically more conservative. He also frequently featured photos of his personal guns and ammo although most of his posts were about cooking barbecue.

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A report by ABC indicates that Moles is a Trump supporter.

“Moles reportedly told police he is a military veteran and suffers from PTSD and that he stayed at the hotel because he likes President Trump. It’s unclear if he posed any threat,” said the ABC report.

The possibility of a Donald Trump assassination attempt has been a hot topic on social media in recent days. Some believed CNN’s Kathy Griffin was actively promoting a Trump assassination with the gory beheading photo. Fortunately, in the case of Dr. Bryan Moles, nothing happened, and he may have never posed a threat to the POTUS, although the investigation is still ongoing.

[Featured Image by Mark Wilson/Getty Images]