Bail set at $750K for armed men at vote-count site

Bail has been set at $750,000 each for two Virginia men authorities said were armed with loaded handguns when they were arrested near the Philadelphia convention center where votes were being counted.

Joshua Macias, 42, and Antonio LaMotta, 61, traveled from the Virginia Beach, Virginia, area in a Hummer and did not have permits to carry the weapons in Pennsylvania, police said. They were charged with carrying a concealed firearm without a license and carrying a firearm on a public street.

The men were stopped Thursday about a block from the vehicle, Macias with a .40-caliber Beretta handgun inside his jacket and LaMotta with a 9mm Beretta in a holster, Philadelphia Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw said. An AR-style rifle and ammunition were found inside the vehicle, Outlaw said.

Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner said there was no indication anyone else was involved or that the men were connected with any extremist group. A woman with the men wasn’t arrested, he said.

Prosecutors said earlier they would request that the men be held without bail pending a preliminary hearing, which was scheduled for Nov .23. Prosecutors said both men were from Chesapeake, Virginia, while the court docket said Macias is from Virginia Beach.

A message seeking comment was sent Saturday to the Defender Association of Philadelphia, listed in court documents as representing LaMotta; no defense attorney was listed for Macias.