Documents say man arrested at Trump Hotel spoke of McVeigh

WASHINGTON — A Western Pennsylvania man with an assault-style rifle and a handgun told an acquaintance that he was driving to see the president and that he had survival supplies, multiple cellphones and enough ammunition to make his car resemble Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh “on a camping trip,” according to charging documents filed Thursday.

Bryan Moles, 43, was arrested at Trump International Hotel in downtown Washington on Wednesday and faces charges of unlawful possession and transportation of a firearm. He was not licensed to carry a gun in the District of Columbia, which has strict gun laws.

A District of Columbia Superior Court judge on Thursday released Mr. Moles on the condition that he stays away from the Trump Hotel and the White House. Mr. Moles is due in federal court Friday afternoon for another hearing. Mr. Moles also agreed to temporarily give up access to weapons at his home in Erie County. Mr. Moles declined to answer most questions from reporters, but when asked what he wanted to tell his family he said that he loved them.

The documents describe Mr. Moles as a recovering alcoholic and marijuana addict suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. He served in the Navy from 1992 to 2006.

Before driving to the nation’s capital, Mr. Moles left voicemails for an acquaintance calling himself “a refugee intent on bringing down big pharmacy and big business medicine,” the documents said. He also made mention of Olympic Park bomber Eric Rudolph, who was convicted of perpetrating multiple acts of domestic terrorism.

Authorities said a tipster contacted them about the messages and they arrested Mr. Moles. D.C. police Chief Peter Newsham said in doing so, they averted a potential tragedy, though the Secret Service said agents interviewed Mr. Moles and determined he did not pose a threat.

In Mr. Moles’ hotel room, investigators found a safe with$10,000 inside, and he told authorities that he’d emptied his bank account “in order to live the life he always wanted before it was too late.” He left $4.19 in his account, corresponding to the date of McVeigh’s bombing of a federal building on April 19, 1995. The blast killed 168 people. Mr. Moles told investigators he once wrote a term paper on McVeigh.