As the nation’s capital, Washington, D.C., draws a lot of strange characters, and we’re not talking about those who occupy office, many of whom are in a category all to themselves.
On Tuesday, a man was arrested for driving with a guillotine in the back of his pickup truck — the charge was “Carrying a Dangerous Weapon.”
Philan-Tam-Duy Le of Julian, CA, was arrested near the U.S. Capitol, and when asked by police officers if the guillotine was functional, Le assured them that it was “the real deal,” according to U.S. Capitol Police.
This afternoon our officers seized a guillotine, which they spotted in the bed of a pickup truck along the 100 block of East Capitol Street.
You can learn more about the arrest here: https://t.co/JibVXWBj8j pic.twitter.com/orxccDAyZc
— The U.S. Capitol Police (@CapitolPolice) August 25, 2026
The truck was illegally parked in a Library of Congress permit parking-only spot, with Capitol Police noting in the affidavit that the vehicle was also near the Capitol and the Supreme Court.
“On the back of the truck was a wooden platform with an approximately 10 ft tall wooden guillotine with what appeared to be a metal blade,” the affidavit said.
Turns out, Le had driven across the country from California. The tattoo artist said the giant guillotine was for “self-defense,” according to independent journalist Andy Ngo.
A California Vietnamese-American tattoo artist who spent months building a giant guillotine that he said was for “self-defense” was arrested on Aug. 25 outside the U.S. Capitol.
Philan Tam Duy Le, 35, had driven it across the country to D.C. He visited the FBI Headquarters and… pic.twitter.com/wDGA9XMYwB
— Andy Ngo (@MrAndyNgo) August 27, 2026
Le reportedly told officers he was not near the Capitol “for any specific reason” and that he “didn’t have issues with specific members of Congress.”
Here’s a quick sampling of responses to the story, as seen on X:
Philan-Tam-Duy Le (35) reportedly drove from Julian, California to Washington DC with a guillotine in the bed of his truck.
The DC police then arrested him for “carrying a dangerous weapon” yesterday.
DC criminal code says:
“No person shall within the District of Columbia… pic.twitter.com/i2GQ4Ox2jk— Mrgunsngear (@Mrgunsngear) August 26, 2026
His parents and grandparents escaped communism in Vietnam, only to see him captured by communism here in America
— Xi Van Fleet (@XVanFleet) August 27, 2026
Silly me. Here I thought all the Vietnamese people in America were hardcore anti-communist and grateful to be away from communism. This dude is just psycho. If his guillotine “self defense” excuse works, I think I’ll start pulling a medieval siege engine behind my vehicle.
— LoveHerMadly (@Xlovehermadly) August 27, 2026
What an idiot.
A guillotine is a terrible medieval construct choice for self defense.
Personally, I’d go with a trebuchet.
pic.twitter.com/fAeJyguk75
— Viktyr (@Viktyr79) August 27, 2026
That truck it was sitting in is far more dangerous and has potential to kill far more people in a crowded city…but im sure nobody is talking about banning vehicles in DC….YET….
— Omega aka…Big Ounce (@TheOmega1921) August 26, 2026
Meanwhile, the thugs run around with their glock switches with impunity.
— Norman Peterson (@realulmapache) August 26, 2026
