{"id":659245,"date":"2026-08-28T14:04:29","date_gmt":"2026-08-28T14:04:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/?p=659245"},"modified":"2026-08-28T14:04:29","modified_gmt":"2026-08-28T14:04:29","slug":"calif-man-arrested-near-u-s-capitol-for-having-a-guillotine-says-it-was-for-self-defense-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/?p=659245","title":{"rendered":"Calif. man arrested near U.S. Capitol for having a GUILLOTINE says it was for \u2018self-defense\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/div>\n

As the nation\u2019s capital, Washington, D.C., draws a lot of strange characters, and we\u2019re not talking about those who occupy office, many of whom are in a category all to themselves.<\/p>\n

On Tuesday, a man was arrested for driving with a guillotine in the back of his pickup truck \u2014 the charge was \u201cCarrying a Dangerous Weapon.\u201d<\/p>\n

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 \u201cthe real deal,\u201d according to U.S. Capitol Police.<\/p>\n

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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.<\/p>\n

You can learn more about the arrest here: https:\/\/t.co\/JibVXWBj8j<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/orxccDAyZc<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 The U.S. Capitol Police (@CapitolPolice) August 25, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn 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,\u201d the affidavit said.<\/p>\n

Turns out, Le had driven across the country from California. The tattoo artist said the giant guillotine was for \u201cself-defense,\u201d according to independent journalist Andy Ngo.<\/p>\n

\n

A California Vietnamese-American tattoo artist who spent months building a giant guillotine that he said was for \u201cself-defense\u201d was arrested on Aug. 25 outside the U.S. Capitol.<\/p>\n

Philan Tam Duy Le, 35, had driven it across the country to D.C. He visited the FBI Headquarters and\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/wDGA9XMYwB<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Andy Ngo (@MrAndyNgo) August 27, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Le reportedly told officers he was not near the Capitol \u201cfor any specific reason\u201d and that he \u201cdidn\u2019t have issues with specific members of Congress.\u201d<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a quick sampling of responses to the story, as seen on X:<\/p>\n

\n

Philan-Tam-Duy Le (35) reportedly drove from Julian, California to Washington DC with a guillotine in the bed of his truck.<\/p>\n

The DC police then arrested him for \u201ccarrying a dangerous weapon\u201d yesterday.<\/p>\n

DC criminal code says:
\n\u201cNo person shall within the District of Columbia\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/i2GQ4Ox2jk<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Mrgunsngear (@Mrgunsngear) August 26, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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His parents and grandparents escaped communism in Vietnam, only to see him captured by communism here in America \"\ud83d\ude31\"<\/p>\n

\u2014 Xi Van Fleet (@XVanFleet) August 27, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\n

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 \u201cself defense\u201d excuse works, I think I\u2019ll start pulling a medieval siege engine behind my vehicle.<\/p>\n

\u2014 LoveHerMadly (@Xlovehermadly) August 27, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\n

What an idiot.<\/p>\n

A guillotine is a terrible medieval construct choice for self defense.<\/p>\n

Personally, I\u2019d go with a trebuchet. \"\ud83d\ude0e\" pic.twitter.com\/fAeJyguk75<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Viktyr (@Viktyr79) August 27, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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That truck it was sitting in is far more dangerous and has potential to kill far more people in a crowded city\u2026but im sure nobody is talking about banning vehicles in DC\u2026.YET\u2026.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Omega aka\u2026Big Ounce (@TheOmega1921) August 26, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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Meanwhile, the thugs run around with their glock switches with impunity.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Norman Peterson (@realulmapache) August 26, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As the nation\u2019s capital, Washington, D.C., draws a lot of strange characters, and we\u2019re 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 \u2014 the charge was \u201cCarrying a… Continue reading Calif. man arrested near U.S. Capitol for having a GUILLOTINE says it was for \u2018self-defense\u2019<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":659233,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[20,23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-659245","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economic-empowerment","category-national-security","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/659245","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=659245"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/659245\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/659233"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=659245"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=659245"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=659245"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}